Away From The Sun
by Kakashis-Rabid-Fangirl
Summary: Rock Lee has always liked Sakura, but after months of getting close, Sakura tells him they're only friends. Lee silently vows never to forgive her for breaking his heart, but is then thrust into a 1 week long scenario where they can't avoid each other.
1. Proud Azure Beast

The Chapter-ish things generally have nothing to do with each chapter.. They're just the songs I was listening to when I wrote the beginning of each chapter-ish-thing. Enjoy!  
  
Proud Azure Beast  
  
His obsidian gaze locked with the horizon as the sun began to set. Shocks of red crossed the sky, covering the violet and blue hues. Orange mingled near the 1/2 covered sun and the final rays of golden yellow spilled out as he continued to stare forth. A few wispy cirrus clouds still hung lazily in the sky, causing a rippling effect to the illumination of this miracle. It all looked like a painting, far too beautiful to be real... Yet, here it was in front of him. It revealed itself for him to see, slowly and shyly, but still he saw. He waited patiently for this miracle to entirely unfold.  
  
This spectacle illuminated the trees, their green leaves shining red, orange, yellow, and even a few showed violet or blue highlights as he felt like he was standing in a rainbow. Thousands of facets of light, thousands of different colours all forming a tapestry that was knitted together with endless love and care. Each thread represented a dream, each patch represented a goal, and the entirety of the project represented life. Life, love, dreams, aspirations...  
  
The sun continued on its journey to rest for the night, the vivid red fading into a pale pink..  
  
Pink, like the colour of her hair.  
  
Yes, her hair was cotton-candy pink, and he imagined it to be so soft, softer than a cloud. It smelled better than a dew-covered rose...  
  
The blues shining from the green leaves seemed to make that shade of turquoise that haunted him.  
  
Yes... Turquoise, like her eyes.  
  
How he could get lost in the pools of her eyes, they absorbed him, and he often found himself drowning in them.  
  
Drowning happily.  
  
Upon sweeping some of his ebony-coloured tresses from his dark and mysterious eyes, he turned away from the final rays of light. He turned his back on God's daily miracle, almost in spite.  
  
He felt as though God was mocking him. The colours reminded him of the girl he could not have. How he wanted her! She was so beautiful, intelligent. She was everything he couldn't be, and he was everything she wasn't, together they could be whole..  
  
But instead, he confessed his feelings to her, and found she could never see him the way he saw her. She was in love, but she was in love with someone else.  
  
In love with someone that was not Rock Lee.  
  
He let out a sigh of remorse, crossing two heavily bandaged arms over his toned chest. She blush to his cheeks had faded when he thought of the previous night.  
  
It had been at dusk, when the final rays of light were disappearing over the horizon. She had become close friends with Lee over the past months, she had confided in him many secrets, and every time she whispered something in his ear he felt his heart beat faster and blood rush to his head.  
  
"Sa-Sakur-Sakura?"  
  
His voice was cracking as he spoke, the tone changing from his low, adorable voice into an almost high-pitched squeak. His entire face, all the way to his ears were now the brightest shade of red. In fact, his cheeks were as red as Sakura's dress as she gazed worriedly into his eyes.  
  
"Yes, Lee-kun?"  
  
"Sakura-chan... Do you... Did you... I... Well... I..." He was choking on his words, so he swallowed heavily. She had moved closer to him, and now he could feel his palms sweating through the bandages.  
  
"Lee-kun?"  
  
"I... I Well... I... Uh... I... L-l... I love you Sakura." He quickly looked away, how come it sounded so stupid? He had practiced it a million times over, each time he had made himself sound like the hero, the one to sweep the beautiful maiden away and off of her feet.  
  
"L-Lee-kun?" Sakura squeaked, leaning away from Lee now, her eyes as wide as they could go.  
  
"Lee-kun, did you just... Did you say... WHAT?!"  
  
Lee tried not so say anything, his voice was in a very squeaky mood all of a sudden. He nodded once, quite firmly, but did not look at the beautiful girl he had fallen madly in love with.  
  
"Lee this.. I just can't! No! It won't work!"  
  
Lee felt like someone had just dropped a grand piano on his heart.  
  
"I love Sasuke!"  
  
Now someone was cutting it up into jigsaw pieces.  
  
"Can't we just be friends?"  
  
And now they were feeding the jigsaw pieces to a dog.  
  
Someone was strangling him, squeezing the empty space where his heart SHOULD be, but it was not there anymore...  
  
"Lee-kun.."  
  
He stood slowly, still not looking at Sakura yet, he faced the blank horizon. Moments ago it had been full of vivid colours, but now.. Now it resembled the shadowed space that used to contain his heart.  
  
He finally turned his gaze over to Sakura and forced a smile to his face.  
  
"All right, Sakura-chan... We'll be friends." And he turned, walking away from the stunned Haruna Sakura.  
  
He found himself running, as if trying to escape the ever-pursuing hurt that she had just inflicted upon him. But he could not escape, no, not even the speed of Konoha's Proud Azure Beast Reincarnated could not escape the speed of a broken heart.  
  
He found himself panting, how long had he ran? How far? Where was he now? It didn't matter, as long as he was nowhere near Sakura...  
  
Eventually he had made his way home, alone, where his parents were gone and he was stuck sitting in a large house by himself.  
  
A large, empty house... By himself. It was so dark. Of course he could turn on the lights, of course he could turn on the TV... But he chose not to...  
  
The darkness seemed to fit now, the blackness, it fit his mood perfectly...  
  
Yes.. Too much colours reminded him of the Summer. Of cherry blossoms. Of Sakura.  
  
And light, light made dark things colourful.. No... Nothing to remind him of Sakura... Now he just wanted to be alone, with Lee. Not even Maito Gai could cheer him up right now... 


	2. Kyuubi No Yoko

The dawning sun's rays glittered across his sandy blonde hair, the pale highlights glittered from each individual strand, causing his hair to look almost white at times. The shine upon his cheeks warmed his lightly tanned skin in a pleasurable manner, and he couldn't help but smile at the feeling.  
  
Through squinted blue eyes, he spotted his target, leapt high into the air, and through the kunai-knife head had in his hand. The blade sailed and struck the bulls-eye perfectly, just as the last 20 or so knives he had thrown had struck.  
  
He was getting pretty good at shuriken and kunai-knife training, in fact, even Sasuke had allowed Naruto a bit of pride and complimented a few of his extraordinary throws.  
  
Yes, Uzumaki Naruto was in his prime this early in the morning. He had been up extra early this morning so he could be sure he was at his best when Sasuke, Kakashi-sensei, and the beautiful Haruna Sakura arrived.  
  
Yup, Naruto was the type to show off, and who better to show off in front of then the prettiest girl in all of Konoha?  
  
Naruto presumed that nobody was better to show off in front of, and therefore continued to train. Already sweat was glazing his skin, adding an extra sheen in the dawning light. It didn't help that Naruto was wearing a heavy jacket, but he wore it every day and would never stop wearing it. He loved this jacket, perhaps it was because he was wearing this jacket when he first became a Gennin when the days were still cold.  
  
He looked up from his training into the blinding light, his already squinted eyes squinted further.  
  
"Naruto?"  
  
"Oro?"  
  
He turned and spotted the illuminated figures of Sakura and Sasuke coming from the treeline.  
  
"You're early, even for you." Sakura said, smiling despite herself.  
  
Naruto was her friend as well, and though her love was only for Sasuke, she now found herself enjoying Naruto's company. His smile with the slightly pointed teeth, and his laughter were just priceless. Nobody was like Naruto, he was one in a million, and she was happy they were friends.  
  
Naruto smiled his trademark smile at that, and then tossed an azure glance at Sasuke who was smirking at him.  
  
"Training, Naruto? You're still never going to be as good as me, dunce."  
  
Naruto glared, but he knew by now that Sasuke was joking with him. Everyone had seen Naruto in action, and where Sasuke could not defeat the mighty Gaara, Naruto the fox-demon boy DID. Sasuke respected Naruto more than he respected most people. He held Naruto, Sakura, Lee, Neji, Gaara, and his sensei- Kakashi, in the highest respect. They all had proven themselves to be very talented Ninjas of Konoha at some point or another, and it meant a lot to Sasuke to know that they respected him as more than just an Uchiha as well.  
  
They respected him as Sasuke, Chuunin-to-be, not Sasuke survivor of the Uchiha massacre.  
  
Naruto crossed his arms over his puffed-out chest.  
  
"And what exactly is THAT supposed to mean?"  
  
"It means exactly how it sounds, dunce, you will never be as good as me."  
  
Naruto glared, and Sasuke glared back.  
  
Just when Sakura thought they might go at each other like rabid dogs, they both began to laugh, this was their thing.  
  
They were like brothers now, Naruto trusted Sasuke and Sasuke trusted Naruto. Maybe they didn't tell each other the BIG secrets, like the fact that Sasuke DID consider Naruto a brother, one like Itaachi had once been a long time ago.  
  
And Naruto never told Sasuke that he, Kakashi, Sakura, and Iruka were the only ones that made life worth living initially.  
  
The small group practiced, using dulled Shuriken to throw at each other to practice their aim. Sakura had excellent aim, as usual, Sasuke had impressive aim, almost always hitting his target, but Naruto's was the most astounding. So much extra training allowed him to hit even Sasuke running, Sakura and Sasuek were both greatly impressed.  
  
"Naruto-kun, when did you learn to do that?" Asked Sakura as she inspected the bruise from one of Naruto's perfect throws.  
  
"He's been practicing, at least an extra 5 hours a day with Shuriken and Kunai knives, more than either of you."  
  
The 3 youths turned to face their teacher, Kakashi- Who was late as usual (I got lost on the road of life! ). His wind-swept silver hair flowed casually off to one side, his hitai-ate positioned just enough to completely cover his left eye, but tilted so the right one remained uncovered. A flimsy stretchy masked covered the bottom half of his face, so the only thing truly uncovered was his right eye. The teacher, with his tall stature commanded respect no matter what he was doing, even reading his favourite books: Icha Icha Paradise (Make-out Paradise, Come-Come Paradise, etc). He was Konoha's pride Copy Ninja Genius, and assigned to teach the only NOT evil Uchiha left alive, and the Kyuubi boy.  
  
Sasuke blinked, he hadn't expected Naruto to be training so extensively! Oh well, not that he couldn't beat Naruto even at this in just a few extra days of training!  
  
"Anyway... We teachers have been talking, and we think it's about time you got to know each other a bit better..."  
  
"Uh oh. We're not switching teams, are we?"  
  
"No, but all of the students will be spending a week together on a retreat, and the teachers will be there as well. None of you need worry about not seeing little old me." Kakashi winked happily, a smile could be barely seen through the mask and just the way he crouched and seemed to be bouncing on the balls of his feet screamed that this would be fun.  
  
Sasuke groaned, that would mean spending more time with Tenten and Ino? Two more girls who would try to latch themselves on to him wherever he went...  
  
Sakura groaned, that would mean Sasuke spending time with Tenten and Ino? Two girls who would try and steal Sasuke away from her?  
  
Naruto smiled. He liked the other kids. Dog-brows was funny in an odd way, Kiba liked the same things he did, Shikamaru was pretty cool, he held nothing against Shino or Chouji. And even though he didn't like Neji, Tenten or Ino all that much (especially Neji.. stupid self-centred jerk!), Hinata was such a nice girl... Actually... She was kind of... Pretty too. It was so nice of her to give him that ointment after he fought Kiba in the last Chunnin exam, after all...  
  
The others noticed the slight blush across Naruto's cheeks, but didn't even both asking. The last time anything that had to do with Hinata had been mentioned, he had begun blushing as well... It was obvious that he liked her, even if he wasn't so sure about it yet.  
  
"Anyway, we'll continue training for now, but we're off to my special training spot around 8:00 tonight to meet the others..." 


	3. Tonight

Tonight  
  
There were many students gathered in one particular clearing, large and surrounded by thick foliage, the sun was still hanging in the sky, though barely. The pale blue sky was darkening as the sun reached out for the horizon, like a child reaching for a blanket to cover up for its nap, the sun was reaching for the horizon to cover up for its own nap.  
  
Three, six, nine, twelve students, all either twelve or thirteen years of age sat in a large circle, their four teachers scattered around the circle as well. They were used to sticking to their usual three-man cells, but now they were tossed randomly about, almost as if the teachers WANTED them to feel awkward. Of course they had all met before, many of them had gone to school together, but these four, three-man cells had not spoken often for a very long time, as of late. One cell was an entire year older than the others as well, in fact.  
  
"Kakashi-sensei, what are we supposed to be doing?" Sakura asked as she found herself in the awkward position of sitting between Lee and Kiba.  
  
The VERY awkward position of sitting next to Lee, especially after....  
  
Well, that was chapter one.  
  
"Mingle, talk, you're all sitting their silently, but none of you will be allowed to move until we see some healthy conversations going on, right Gai?"  
  
"Hai!"  
  
She turned awkwardly towards Lee, hoping that he did not hold hard feelings.  
  
Then he saw him chatting comfortably with Hinata, who was on the other side of him.  
  
She turned the other way to speak to Kiba, but found he was talking to Ino and Tenten.  
  
Sakura was being left out!  
  
It might not have been intentional on Kiba's part, but the way she looked at Lee and saw he was turned completely away from her, as though trying to completely block her from his life, she knew he was hurt. She had caused him so much pain, she had seen it in his obsidian eyes, that extra little twinkle in them had vanished and replaced by a cold, emotionless stare. He moved stiffly around her, as though the grace he had gained from learning Taijutsu so thoroughly had been completely wiped away. He moved as though he was a young child being scolded loudly by their parents for doing something of no harm.. Like eating a bug or something.  
  
She sighed and turned back to Kiba, trying to slip into his conversation by laughing at his annoying jokes and inputting her point of view on his comments. Eventually she was welcomed and the group of three became a group of four.  
  
"I don't see why Sakura-chan would do that, Lee-kun.. You're very nice." Hinata said with a shy smile, no blush, but that adorable little smile that spread lightly across her face when she spoke to those she was unfamiliar with.  
  
"... Thank you, Hinata-chan.. Thank you for listening. It makes the hurt go away." Lee said slowly as he stared dead ahead, the exact opposite direction of Sakura and he beautiful, shiny, soft hair...  
  
"I'm glad I could help you, Lee-kun." Hinata whispered once more.  
  
He looked down at the small girl and saw her eyes dart across the circle to a wild-haired blonde boy with whisker-like stripes across his cheeks. His squinted blue eyes were staring at Neji as if he was the son of the Devil. Naruto still held a grudge against Neji ever since their last Chuunin exam.  
  
"It seems you've found someone who catches your eye as well?" Lee asked innocently, offering a smile to Hinata who was now blushing an insane shade of red.  
  
"WHATD'YA MEAN BY THAT?!" He turned his head over to see Naruto pointing accusingly at Neji once more.  
  
"I said you had a bug on your shoulder, baka."  
  
Naruto was fuming as his azure gaze flamed red, the frown across his face as he pointed at Neji grew until Shino reached up and plucked the bug off of Naruto's shoulder.  
  
"I'm sorry." Was all Shino said as the bug crawled quickly up his sleeve.  
  
Hinata was really blushing now, even giggling slightly at Naruto's overreaction, and the way Shino calmly took the bug away.  
  
"He dislikes Neji..." Lee said as though the statement wasn't obvious.  
  
"Ever since..." Hinata broke off quickly, touching her stomach with one hand and her forehead with the other, remembering the horrible event...  
  
"Everything Neji says is insulting to him, I think he's trying to protect your honour in some way, Hinata-chan," Rock Lee continued as he looked thoughtfully across the circle at Naruto, still fuming, but Kakashi had calmed him down somewhat. He had turned his back on Neji and was now speaking to Shino, though was not getting much of a response.  
  
"The dunce doesn't know when to shut up," Both Hinata and Lee heard someone say. The two turned to face  
  
Shikamaru who was shaking his head at Naruto, but smiling at his stupidity. Chouji was nodding at Shikamaru as if everything he said HAD to be right, just because his IQ was over 200.  
  
"Try spending 8 hours a day with him."  
  
Sasuke was sitting between Shikamaru and Chouji, his chin resting on top of pented fingers as he stared idly over top of them at Naruto. His dark eyes were only half open, as though the goings on around him were quite dull.  
  
Chouji looked to his left at Neji, who had shifted away from Naruto to face him.  
  
Neji's eyes creeped Chouji out SO much!  
  
The big-boned boy gulped and then turned the other way towards Sasuke, hating the fact that Neji was likely staring straight through him.  
  
"Have we talk enough yet?"  
  
It was Sasuke who broke the chit-chat as he gazed at Kakashi.  
  
The silver-haired teacher was speaking with Asuma, Kurenai, and Gai, just as jounin friends always did.  
  
"Oh! Right! Uhm... Gai? Your idea was next..." Kakashi prompted.  
  
"GAME TIME!" The shiny-haired teacher struck another unusual pose, just as he always did, and smiled so his teeth made the absurdly annoying 'PING!' sound.  
  
All twelve students and the 3 other teachers sighed heavily.  
  
Asuma's jaw slacked, his cigarette tilting downwards in his mouth before he gained composure and took another puff of his cancer stick. Kurenai fanned the annoying fumed from her face while making a disgusted face when he exhaled right into her face. Kakashi's one revealed eye was only half open, and the lid simply drooped further as he gazed around at the many students.  
  
None of them were at ALL enthusiastic about all of this.  
  
"Whoever wins doesn't have to do Condition training for a week!" Kakashi offered, and Gai saluted the valiant addition to his master plan. The students seemed at least WILLING to participate now!  
  
"What's the game then?" Lee asked for everyone, still not paying attention to Sakura, who was gazing at him.  
  
"MURDER WINK!" Gai pronounced happily, and though Maito Gai was Rock Lee's teacher, and otherwise Idol, he still sweatdropped at that. Since Tsunade had become Hokage and he had almost lost all of hope of becoming a ninja, he never seemed nearly as excited about his sensei's words.  
  
"The rules of the game are as follows, Everyone closes their eyes and I choose one student to be the murderer. The murderer must wink at people in order to 'kill' (he did the little air-quotes too) them. The others must guess who the murderer is before there's only the murderer and one more victim left, else the murderer wins. Once you are killed you must count to ten before dramatically 'dying' and you can not speak or guess at who the murderer is. If someone guesses who the murderer is before there is only the murderer and one other person are left, that person wins."  
  
Gai seemed overly enthusiastic as he winked over-exageratedly at the students, then laughed at is own 'joke'.  
  
"All right! EVERYONE CLOSE YOUR EYES!"  
  
Everyone did as told, hoping to at least shut Gai up, he was insanely happy about being stuck with twelve kids and three other teachers who were less than please at his over-excitability.  
  
Before anyone had closed their eyes for more than a second, Gai had returned to his original position and was giving the thumbs up with the shiny smile once more.  
  
"YOSH! I've picked! Now everybody ENJOY!"  
  
Everybody gazed around the circle at each other, nobody was even BLINKING, save Shikamaru who had plunked his head in his hands for a nap.  
  
Then, Hinata died.  
  
Naruto pointed accusingly at Neji.  
  
"IT WAS YOU! WASN'T IT?! I BLAME YOU! I'LL GET YOU FOR THAT!" And he made a dive for Neji, only to be held back by Kakashi.  
  
"It wasn't Neji, now you're out of the game, lie down and pretend you're dead like Hinata."  
  
Naruto was growling loudly as he took a position on the ground and pretended to be dead, under the watchful eye of Kakashi.  
  
Hinata was blushing pretty red for a dead person.  
  
A few seconds later, three people simultaneously died, Ino, Kiba, and Tenten. Kiba pretended he had been shot. Ino grasped at her throat as though someone had slit it, and Tenten simply dropped dead.  
  
People were growing anxious now. All of them were ninjas but they couldn't pick out ONE person who was simply WINKING?  
  
Lee fell over, pulling a VERY dramatic scene as he did so, falling backwards off of his seat and even hitting his head by accident.  
  
"Itai."  
  
"Dead people don't say 'ouch'," Came a response from somewhere in the crowd of students left.  
  
Sasuke, Neji, Shikamaru, Chouji, Sakura, and Shino were all that was left at this point, Sakura's eyes were darting about wildly, who was the killer?!  
  
Neji needn't have moved to see everyone, and yet he STILL hadn't noticed who was winking.  
  
Shikamaru snored.  
  
Chouji munched on some random chips.  
  
Sasuke glared.  
  
Shino simply gazed over his sunglasses.  
  
Then Neji leaned over, closed his eyes, and simply pretended to not move. He had obviously just died.  
  
"Wow they're good, to get two Hyuuga's!" Asuma commented quietly to the other teachers.  
  
Sakura gulped.  
  
Sasuke glared.  
  
Chouji Munched.  
  
Shino gazed.  
  
Shikamaru snored.  
  
Shino dropped dead.  
  
Sasuke raised on hand high into the air.  
  
"It's Shikamaru."  
  
Shikamaru stretched and looked at Sasuke, wiping the little bit of drool from his mouth.  
  
"Nice guess."  
  
Sakura blinked her turquoise eyes at Sasuke. She knew he was awesome, he was PERFECT, after all.  
  
"How did you know?"  
  
"You can't see Shino wink through his sunglasses, so even if he was winking at people nobody would have seen.  
  
You're eyes are moving to fast to have even THOUGHT about guessing you. It was either Chouji or Shikamaru and Shikamaru was putting up a good front. I was watching him move and as his head lolled, somebody in that direction always died about ten seconds later."  
  
Sasuke felt a little superior, but then added, "I like condition training, so I don't want to skip it, though."  
  
Everyone was back up on their seats, Hinata was still blushing and lee was nursing the back of his head gingerly.  
  
"YOSH! Now, what's next?" Gai said, turning to Kurenai quickly. 


	4. My Friends Over You

My Friends Over You  
  
They had been paired off with someone who wasn't in their group previously, each group hiding somewhere in the darkness. It was a game of manhunt, testing their shinobi skills, but they also had to compensate for being with another now, as well.  
  
Also, they could not use Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, or weapons in this game, so Lee was obviously at a great advantage. The only thing that could have dragged him down was if he was paired with Sakura... And the only way he would be stuck with Sakura now would be if she and her partner had caught his partner and himself.  
  
They were hidden in the foliage, A fox-made hole burrowed beneath a giant boulder behind them. Hinata was half hidden in this hole, and they had already checked its security. The boulder would not move, and when completely in this hole, it was almost impossible to see even Hinata with he piercing white eyes and light-coloured jacket. Lee was invisible dressed in all dark colours with ebony hair and eyes to match.  
  
"Hinata-chan do you see anyone coming?"  
  
"No, Lee-kun... Wait..."  
  
Her byakuugans activated, she noticed movement off to Lee's left.  
  
"Duck!" Hinata whispered quickly to him. Lee did as he was told, and saw Naruto and Kiba go sailing over his head, obviously running from someone, but they hadn't noticed their little group.  
  
Hinata was hidden now, and Lee was beside her, holding his hand in front of her to keep her even farther back in their hiding place.  
  
"Someone else must be coming.."  
  
Hinata gulped, then pushed Lee down farther as well.  
  
"It's Neji Nii-san and Sakura-chan. They're headed this way... They were 'it', weren't they?"  
  
Lee nodded and motioned for Hinata to fall silent.  
  
Sakura went sailing overhead, chasing after Naruto, but Neji seemed to be moving slower, as if trying to spot those hiding in the foxholes in the earth.  
  
Lee and Hinata fell down farther in their hole.  
  
Neji walked on past, it was as if he had known someone was there, but did not want to bother checking it yet.  
  
Or perhaps it was because Sakura had gotten too far away, and this game involved staying in partners.  
  
Hinata sensed that Neji and Sakura had safely passed, and the two slipped from their hole, dusting themselves off slightly. It was dank and dirty down in their hiding place, but by far the best they had found.  
  
"Hinata-chan. Do you see anyone else?"  
  
Hinata shook her head. This was a LARGE area to be playing this game in, and those that were chasing them were now fairly far gone.. Things would be uneventful for now.  
  
Several hours had passed by now, when Lee looked around. Hinata was nursing her headache, she hardly ever used her byakuugans and it hurt somewhat to use them for long periods of time at this point. It was up to his own keen eyes to spot danger for now, but as he focused too greatly on one area, he failed to notice the brush moving in another.  
  
"Lee! Behind you!"  
  
He spun quickly and spotted Sakura standing there, fully emerged from the bushes and leaves sticking in her hair. One hand was raised with her index finger pointed at him, a smile across her face.  
  
"Neji's reporting to the teachers who we've caught so far, so I'm on scouting. I saw you here earlier, Lee-kun.."  
  
Lee took a step back, Hinata moving behind him just as slowly.  
  
"Lee, do you know where Naruto and Kiba are? It's just you two and Naruto's group we have to catch yet."  
  
Hinata gulped. They boys had passed earlier and told them to be quiet about which direction they had headed... In fact, Hinata knew exactly where they were hiding.  
  
Sakura noticed this movement, and sensed that Hinata was hiding something. Hiding something rather poorly.  
  
"No, Sakura-chan...."  
  
"Look, Hinata does.. If you guys tell me then I won't catch you two first and then you guys will be the winners."  
  
Lee gazed down at Hinata, though kept the angle so he could see Sakrua clearly too. Hinata was obviously on the look-out for Neji as her byakuugans had been fully reactivated once more.  
  
"No, Sakura-chan." Lee said even more firmly this time, seeing that Hinata didn't want to divulge this information.  
  
"Lee-kun, Please? It's me, remember."  
  
"No! Naruto-kun and Kiba-kun are my friends, and I choose to protect my friends over you!"  
  
"All right, Lee-kun!" Sakura said as she advanced forwards, she looked even more hurt now.  
  
At one point, Sakura and Lee had been friends, best friends, but now he was implying she was nothing to him.  
  
Nothing... It hurt so much to hear him say that. She loved Sasuke, but she loved Lee as a friend, and to see that icy glare in his eyes...  
  
A tear streaked her face as she darted forwards to tag them.  
  
Lee ducked to the side, grabbing Hinata and pulling her up in a piggy-back position.  
  
After all, even if Lee could get away, if Hinata was tagged then they were both caught.  
  
Lee ran as fast as his feet could carry him, which was faster than anyone else in their group, excluding Sasuke. He counted each step as he ran, for every step he took, that was how many tears he would cry for Sakura later, he knew.  
  
"Arigato, Lee-kun. You saved us both."  
  
"It's all right, Hinata-chan."  
  
"If it wasn't for me, Sakura never would have known we knew where Naruto and Kiba were... She would have just tagged us and left to find them.."  
  
"It's all right, Hinata-chan! You wanted to protect you friend and.. Well... Naruto! You're my friend, and I want to protect you, so here we are!"  
  
He ducked saw the clearing in front of him... And he saw Neji approaching from that direction.  
  
Skidding to a halt, he looked in one direction to spot Sakura following in the distance, and the other to see Neji.  
  
"Uh oh." Was all Lee offered. His choices involved running into a clearing, where they would be caught surely as Hinata (even if she WAS light) was slowing him down, she wasn't very aerodynamic, after all.  
  
"Naruto-kun!" Hinata said, seeing the Kyuubi boy appear from the side.  
  
"Kiba!" Lee said, as the dog boy approached from the other.  
  
"Kiba heard what you guys did with his awesome dog hearing.. Now it's our turn to protect you guys! Kiba, you go to Sakura, I'll face off against Neji."  
  
Naruto smiled widely, revealing overgrown incisors that resembled kitsune fangs and gave them both the thumbs up.  
  
"A- - Arigato Naruto-kun." Hinata stammered.  
  
"Arigato, Kiba!" Lee said happily as they watched their two friends run off...  
  
Naruto gazed back over his shoulder only once, just to see Hinata's shy smile as she watched him go. He could see the blush across her face, and it made him happy to know that she was watching him pull his heroics.  
  
"Neji!" Naruto cried as he reached the open field that Neji was approaching from.  
  
"Naruto..." The Hyuuga boy said slowly, glaring darkly through blank white eyes.  
  
Naruto could barely react at the speed Neji had come running at him, he ducked away from the tag, just to give Lee and Hinata a little more time to run.  
  
Then he stopped, letting Neji catch him.  
  
"Where's your partner?" Naruto heard Neji ask after a silent moment.  
  
"He should be getting tagged by Sakura right about now."  
  
"Then the game is over."  
  
"It has been for a while now. And the winners are Lee and Hinata."  
  
Neji seemed to glare even darker at these names. Naruto looked triumphant.  
  
The game was over, and everyone had gathered into the field once more, including Lee who was still carrying Hinata on his back.  
  
"YOSH!" The Taijutsu master cried as he set Hinata down.  
  
He gave a thumbs up to his teacher, who was looking at him proudly. It was almost as though his own son had become Hokage or something.  
  
"Arigato Naruto-kun! Kiba-kun!" Lee offered once more, and Hinata agreed with another rosy blush. She looked down at her penting fingers, then back up through her eyelashes at Naruto, who grinned broadly in response.  
  
"Winners, Rock Lee and Hyuuga Hinata!" Kurenai said, looking at Gai smugly as every student seemed far more amused with HER idea than HIS.  
  
So, now it was almost midnight, and everyone was yawning widely from the exertion of a full day.  
  
"Time to set up the TENTS!" Kakashi said, tossing tents to random students, the things seeming to have materialized from thin air.  
  
"Pick a partner, set up your tent, and enjoy a good night's rest. And remember, you can't share a tent with a team-mate" Asuma added as he started setting up his own tent (one of those ones where you pull it from the bag and it sets itself up, of course).  
  
The girls naturally paired off. Tenten and Hinata took one tent, Ino and Sakura the other, both setting their tents up next to each other, windows facing so they could do 'girl talk' until the wee hours of the morning. Whenever a group of girls gathered at night, they usually did not sleep until at LEAST 3:00 in the morning.  
  
Neji and Shino shared one tent, their silent and introverted natures making them the perfect match. Their tent was up the fastest, as Shino was quite good at setting up tents for some inexplicable reason.  
  
Naruto and Kiba shared a tent, as they had become good friends thanks to their game of manhunt earlier. Their tent was up last as they were both inexplicably horrible at setting up tents. Shino ended up doing it for them in the end.  
  
Sasuke and Shikamaru also shared a tent, planting theirs farthest away from the girls' tent compared to everyone else. Shikamaru did not really care where it was set up, so Sasuke said if they set it up where HE wanted it, he would not force Shikamaru to work. His scheme worked, and even the TEACHERS' tents were closer to the girls.  
  
Chouji ended up sharing a tend with Lee, and theirs was set up second fastest, as Chouji enjoyed camping, and Lee enjoyed learning. Their tent was second farthest from the girls, so Chouji and Shikamaru could talk between tents (if Shikamaru was not already asleep)...  
  
Or at least, that's what Lee TOLD Chouji.  
  
He simply did not want his tent anywhere near Sakura, just as Sasuke desired to be nowhere near Tenten and Ino.  
  
Kurenai kept the tent close to the girls', knowing they may well sneak out in the night to snap pictures of a bedridden Sasuke, and though she found the idea interesting, she had been told to NOT let the girls do that.. On pain of... Severe pain.  
  
Asuma and Kakashi ended up sharing a tent, as Gai had forgotten a tent, and was forced to use Kakashi's... No WAY was Kakashi sharing a tent with Maito Gai, he snored, drooled, he was LOUD, and hairy, and he scratched himself in inappropriate places in his sleep... And though he hated to admit it, Kakashi found him too disgustingly manly.  
  
He understood snoring, drooling, hairy-ness, loudness, itchy-ness, all on their own... To place it all on ONE being was just disgusting, so instead Kakashi shared a tend with Asuma.  
  
They both feel asleep within five minutes anyway, so it didn't really make a difference. 


	5. Feeling This

Feeling This  
  
They awoke late in the morning, as there were no alarm clocks, Asuma was lazy, Kakashi was astoundingly lazy, Kurenai had been up until after 5:00 AM watching the girls, and the boys just felt like sleeping in.  
  
The only reason they had even awoken before noon was that Gai had gone and 'caught breakfast'. They all awoke to the smell of delicious food, though none asked what it was for fear of finding out. The one time someone was about to ask, Tenten had told them to hush quickly, as Gai seemed to find odd delicacies that would make any normal being's stomach churn.  
  
They all ate, put out their campfire, stretched, and got ready for the day ahead.  
  
Excluding Shikamaru who was still asleep. He HAD woken up and gone to breakfast, but had fallen asleep in his place before anyone had noticed he had even arrived.  
  
Lee had already redressed into a fresh.. jumpsuit, and put their tent into reasonable order before everyone had finished eating, and had already gone to fetch water before anyone had noticed he was GONE.  
  
"Hey.. Where did Lee go?" It was Sakura. She still felt horrible for Lee, and was irritated that Kiba had come running at her the night before in manhunt as she was chasing after Lee. He remembered him demanding that she marry him, then having an argument with Kiba over his undeniable love for 'The pink haired chick', then finally letting her tag him before pointing over his shoulder.  
  
"Naruto should be tagged by now, you might as well get me out so the game's over, right?"  
  
She had wanted to speak to him alone, but now he was gone again, it was apparent he wanted nothing to do with her right now.  
  
She sighed.  
  
"What's wrong, Big Forehead?" Ino asked, gently putting a hand on her friend's shoulder.  
  
"None of your business, Ino-pig."  
  
"Aww, you're being so harsh, Bi- - Sakura-chan... Does it have anything to do with Lee-kun?"  
  
Sakura turned her head away, scrunching up her face angrily.  
  
"Why would it have to do with Lee-kun, Ino-pig?"  
  
"Because you just asked about him, then started looking all depressed."  
  
Sakura's shimmering eyes turned to gaze at Yamanaka Ino for a moment as her mouth opened in surprise.  
  
"What is it then, Sakura?"  
  
"It's really nothing... My pet cat just died, is all, and I remembered I had named her Leigh, pronounced the same way as Lee-kun, so it made me sad."  
  
Ino nodded, though she knew that Sakura did not have a cat, let alone would she name it anything remotely close to 'Lee'. No, if Sakura had a cat, she would name it Sasuke so she could say stuff like 'Sasuke slept in my bed last night, and we cuddled', or 'Sasuke spent all night at my house last night, and he even stayed in my room, Ino-pig!' just to make Ino mad.  
  
Sakura looked away once more, then gazed down at her toes, wiggling them through the large hole in her zori (sandals).  
  
Her toenails were painted cotton-candy pink, to match her unorthodox hair. She wiggled them a bit more before standing up and going to find Sasuke or Naruto. They were her closest friends now, and she just needed to see a happy, smiling face right about now...  
  
Naruto looked up from his breakfast, it tasted good and this was his third serving, it wasn't ramen with miso, but it tasted good enough to do him for the next hour or two. He patted his bloated belly before looking at the approaching Sakura.  
  
"Sakura-chan! I just ate THREE of whatever Gai-sensei made! And everyone told me I'd throw up..."  
  
Naruto seemed very proud at his accomplishment, as though he should earn a medal of some sort, or at least a T-shirt that said 'I Survived Maito Gai's Cooking' across it.  
  
Sakura smiled at this, but couldn't help but smack Naruto over the head as she passed.  
  
"That made me feel a whole lot better, Arigato Naruto-kun!"  
  
Sasuke was sitting by himself, as usual..  
  
Wait, no he wasn't. Shino was sitting next to him, and they were speaking to each other in limited terms, somewhat limited to one word responses or simple grunts. It was like a primitive language.  
  
Or at least, that's what Sakura saw it as, and giggled slightly at that. Already she was feeling a lot better.  
  
"Sasuke-kun, did you sleep well?"  
  
"Yeah, except Chouji kept talking to Shikamaru... Even though I told him about fifty or so times that Shikamaru was already asleep."  
  
Sakura giggled slightly again as she sat down next to Sasuke.  
  
"Ohayo, Shino-kun." She offered after a moment. He simply nodded and gazed through his sunglasses at God only knows what.  
  
"Sasuke-kun, do you think we could talk... Alone?"  
  
Sasuke shrugged, and Shino took the hint, stood, and strode off to have another primitive conversation with someone else... Likely Neji.  
  
Lee returned to the group after a little while, being sure to stay out of Sakura's view as he had even started a conversation with Asuma and Kakashi.  
  
"You taught Sasuke most of my basic Taijutsu moves within the span of one month.. How did you do that? Was it just the Sharingan, or what?"  
  
"No, no, no! You see, Sasuke has a Taijutsu body, the Sharingan makes him capable of using Genjutsu and Ninjutsu with little to no effort, so to train in Taijutsu would strengthen his only weakness. We simply went over your moves and trained his body to become used to it."  
  
"I see... Does that mean you could show me Taijutsu moves that even Gai- sensei does not know? Would you be able to train my body to improve that quickly?"  
  
"It depends on your body type. You are a Taijutsu master, but it has taken you the most part of 7 years to earn your strengths, which shows that your body accepts it well, but takes a while to adhere to the new things you teach it.  
  
How many times did you practice Renge before you got it right?"  
  
Lee paused, counting in his head.  
  
"As many times as possible within the span of a week." He finally answered, his math skills never having been that impressive.  
  
"I see... Well, I could- - -"  
  
Shikamaru was no longer asleep at this point. Now he was staring at the sky, making funny shapes out of the pretty clouds. One looked like a bunny rabbit. The other looked like a severed head.. The last looked almost like Chouji using Omote Renge. It was a very odd sight, but Shikamaru couldn't help but let out a slight chuckle.  
  
Asuma yawned, looking over at Kurenai.  
  
"Look like my plan worked out well."  
  
"What do you mean by that?"  
  
"By forcing them into such a small area, they are all being forced to communicate with each other, without knowing they are being forced to do so. It's a genius plan if I do say so myself. By forcing awkward situations between some groups, you get odd coupling communicating as well. See, I just told Tenten that Neji was bisexual and now she's talking to Naruto."  
  
"You did WHAT?" Kurenai snapped.  
  
"Kidding. She saw Naruto looking at Hinata and is now trying to get them together.. It's some sort of.. Girl thing, right?"  
  
Kurenai sighed as she looked away from Asuma. He inhaled deeply on his cigarette and blew out an 'O' shaped cloud of smoke into the air.  
  
"You're so stupid some times."  
  
"But that's why you love me."  
  
He blew out a ring of smoke in the basic shape of a heart.  
  
Kurenai glared, he wasn't supposed to say something so stupid like that.. So stupid... BAKA! Why would he go and spit the truth out like that? It just wasn't fair.  
  
"Baka."  
  
"I know, but I'm a brilliant baka." 


	6. Fighter

Fighter  
  
Kakashi yawned widely, now. Lee had departed and was now trying to get a less primitive conversation from Shino, but was failing miserably ('So... I hear you're from the Aburame clan, huh?' 'Yes.' 'You guys use bugs, right?'  
  
'Uhuh..' "And how do you feel about that' 'We don't.' 'Huh?' 'Bugs are us.' 'Riiiiight.' 'Hn.' 'Yeah.. And.. So...' 'Hn.' 'I'm gonna go talk to someone else now, okay?' 'Whatever...'). What else could they do? Gai had gotten them to play the stupidest game he had ever heard of, Kurenai had given them a training excercise-style game which they had enjoyed, Asuma had forced them into awkward conversations.. What was Kakashi to do?  
  
"Right. Uhmm... Okay, Everyone... Pick a partner... Not from your team.. And they can't be the same partners you have shared a tent with or played Manhunt with."  
  
Lee groaned, but soon found himself paired up with Naruto.. He could live with Naruto at least, right?  
  
Sakura and Hinata were partners, and Ino and Tenten had paired. The girls generally stuck together unless otherwise forced to.  
  
Sasuke found himself paired with Shino, which was no big deal, they had their primitive conversations to share, so it worked.  
  
Neji found himself staring into the face of none other than Chouji.  
  
Shikamaru and Kiba were paired up together, therefore.  
  
"Ok.." Kakashi was just making this up as he went, now. The other teachers had long since planned their ideas, but his had to be pulled from the top of his head.  
  
"We're going to play another game..."  
  
Many students groaned loudly at this.  
  
"The whole point is to learn as much as possible about other students, and whichever team can answer the most questions I give to them at the end of the week wins.. And that team will..."  
  
"Never have to go on a stupid retreat like this again?" Somebody offered, nobody really learned who.  
  
"Right." Kakashi said, figuring that they hadn't planned anything else like this for anytime in the near future, so that answer would work.  
  
"Gotcha."  
  
"And the questions can be personal, impersonal, simply about the person's appearance, ect. There is not set outline for these questions, so study your comrades carefully."  
  
Sakura figured that if any questions about Sasuke came up, she would be able to answer them easily. She knew everything about him down to the fact that his second biggest toe on his left foot was ALMOST the same length as the big toe.  
  
Chouji and Shikamaru knew each other well, and though Chouji wanted to play this game, Shikamaru found it too troublesome.  
  
"Neji, use your Byakuugans, and I'm going to go stare at the clouds and.. Think of a plan."  
  
Neji shrugged, the idea worked out and he would be able to see everything about anyone very easily.  
  
Hinata knew a lot about Naruto, and also had Byakuugans.  
  
Naruto knew a lot about both Sakura and Hinata, a fair bit about Sasuke, and even a fair bit about Kiba now.  
  
Lee knew a LOT about Sakura.  
  
Ino and Tenten knew Sasuke almost as well as Sakura knew him. Tenten also knew Neji more than any human being, and Ino knew a lot about both Chouji and Shikamaru.  
  
Kiba knew a lot about... Akamaru? He also knew a bit about Naruto, and maybe Hinata... And The absolute minimum about Shino... Actually, he could barely spell Aburame...  
  
Shino knew Sasuke through their 'talks' and also had his bugs to gather information well enough.  
  
Now, all they had to do was gather up each others' bits of knowledge... But how?  
  
"Right.. Gai's turn again, seeing as my plan lasts all week, it also means that I don't have to take any more turns!"  
  
The other teachers gawked at his sheer genius. They had all thought of many ideas for their retreat, but Kakashi had simply made up a game that kept him from being forced to make up any more games. The only other thing he had to do was make up a few questions about each students and learn their real answers... No big deal.  
  
Lee gazed over at Naruto, who was looking around suspiciously at the other students.  
  
"... Sasuke, Sakura, Kakashi... Shikamaru... I think that's it."  
  
"Nani?" Lee asked, gazing back over at Naruto.  
  
"Just counting how many people I think know about my biggest secret..."  
  
"Ah."  
  
Lee paused before counting on his fingers how many secrets he had. Not many, but the main ones had only been told about to Gai-sensei... That made things a lot easier...  
  
"Together we'll know Sakura like an open book. I also know Neji somewhat, and Tenten has a big mouth so I know a LOT about her too. Who else can you come up with stuff on?"  
  
"Kiba, Sasuke, and.. Hinata."  
  
Lee sighed. Naruto and Hinata were STILL not together?  
  
"All right.. So that leaves Shino, Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji... If we can get Chouji into a conversation about Shikamaru it shouldn't be TOO difficult to learn things about them both... And Ino.. well.. Ino is madly in love with Sasuke, but I'm pretty sure she also has a thing for Shikamaru too.."  
  
Naruto was making these deductions, not matter how much you thought it would be Lee.  
  
Lee was impressed.  
  
"All right, So... I share a tent with Chouji, so getting information can't be TOO hard, right?"  
  
Naruto nodded.  
  
"Then... It's my job to learn stupid girlie stuff about Ino?"  
  
"Ask Hinata, she'll probably tell you." Was all Lee said before he looked up to the sky. He wished he was able to go back to his clearing and train. He wanted to punch and kick until his physical pain drowned his emotional pain, and then everything would be right again.  
  
By this point, noon had already passed. Groups were coming up with their plans, and were completely ignoring Gai's ideas of playing 'Hot Potato' and 'Telephone' to learn to work together as a BIG team.  
  
Eventually they DID actually play telephone, and the message usually ended up into 'This is so troublesome' around the time it reached Shikamaru. Once, the message had actually BEEN 'This is so troublesome', but Naruto found it boring and changed it into something sounding much like 'Naruto is gonna be Hokage!' at the very end of the line.  
  
The game never did teach the students what Gai wanted them to learn, just that Shikamaru was lazy and Naruto was very obsessed with becoming the Hokage.  
  
To even bother explaining what else happened that night is far too troublesome. 


	7. Everything

Everything  
  
The next day was generally uneventful, as Kurenai made them play another skill-challenging game, and Asuma tricked them all into doing this and that, somehow. One wondered if it was really Asuma that was that clever, and not Shikamaru just giving him boring ideas and making them sound good, so he could simply sleep through them.  
  
Kakashi played his trump card, that his game lasted all week, and then Gai's turn came around again.  
  
They played another boring game of Gai's, which taught them nothing they hadn't known, or nothing they needed to know, and then returned to bed.  
  
The main purpose of this day for the children was that they could gather information. The various pairings made it possible for new 'friendships' to occur, and in that case you had to learn NOT to speak freely about yourself, or even give out false information.  
  
Once Kiba told Sasuke that they ate Kibbles n' Bits for breakfast in his household... But made it SOUND like a lie... It was the TRUTH! Sneaky Kiba...  
  
Shino never spoke often, so his entire life was a mystery, except that he used bugs as a weapon, knew EVERYTHING about bugs, and hated talking about himself. This left the job of learning about Shino VERY hard indeed...  
  
Even for Kakashi, who had gathered very little information from Kurenai as he never spoke during lessons, and how could Kakashi get Shino to open up to him any way? Learning answers to his questions about Shino would be almost as hard for him as for the other students.  
  
Kakashi sighed... What had he gotten himself in to?  
  
Lee gazed around him casually, people were beginning to notice a change in his usually happy, peppy self. He was far less inclined to volunteer for everything, far less inclined to answer every question Gai asked in a loud yell. He was far less inclined. Period.  
  
Of course, one tends to slow down, to feel a little less like themselves when their heart has been shattered into a thousand, tiny little pieces and then mashed into a fine powder. It was rather depressing, to say the least.  
  
It also struck Lee very hard as compared to any normal person. Lee was the type to have extreme emotions, like a person on a caffeine or sugar high. If he was happy, he was H-A-P-P-Y! If He was sad, well... That was rather person for Lee to go diving into. Let us leave it at the fact that Lee was the type of person with extreme emotions, and he was beginning to feel the full effects of depression.  
  
He sat by his tent for the most part of the day, trying to avoid the games and exercises that the teachers were forcing upon them. He didn't want to socialize, or even eat when meal times came around. He simply remained alone, half sulking and half hating the world around him.  
  
"Lee-kun?"  
  
It was Hinata. Of all people he had become good friends with, it was the most shy girl in all of Konoha, but at least he felt all right with speaking to her.  
  
"Konbanwa, Hinata-chan."  
  
"Why are you all alone over here? Everyone's eating dinner now.."  
  
Lee simply shrugged and shifted his position slightly.  
  
"I don't really want to eat."  
  
"You haven't eaten all day."  
  
Lee shrugged once more.  
  
"Do you mind if I sit down here with you, then?"  
  
"Do as you will."  
  
Hinata took a seat next to Lee, and looked at him through her white eyes, afraid of what was happening in poor Lee's thoughts. The way his eyes moved seemed to tell Hinata and her byakuugans that her new friend was feeling extremely depressed, which was definitely not good.  
  
"Lee-kun , you're better than this. What happened to the happy, smiling face from yesterday?"  
  
Hinata was not very good at cheering people up. She was always shy, and therefore usually off to the corner herself.  
  
Lee shrugged once more.  
  
"Lee, you don't need Sakura to be happy. What happened to the years before you knew her? You were happy then, were you not? Besides, you have a lot of friends who love you and hate to see you like this, Lee-kun..."  
  
Lee looked up at Hinata through distant eyes, their shimmering obsidian glazed over, "Name three."  
  
"I can name even more than that, Lee-kun. Tenten has asked about you, Naruto is wondering why poor Fuzzy-eyebrows is- -" She giggled slightly before adding, "Don't worry, he's just kidding. I'm here, too, and Kiba thinks you're a funny guy. Even Ino is worried about why you're alone over here. Gai looks shocked that you're not in the middle of things. He thinks that his favorite pupil might be sick and had already told Kakashi that he KNEW they should have brought a first aid kit..."  
  
Lee looked away, but couldn't help but let a small smile cross his face. So, people did care..  
  
He slowly stood up, walking away from the side of the tent while looking back at Hinata.  
  
"You sure can see a lot, with or without your eyes, Hinata-chan. Thank you."  
  
Hinata smiled brightly before following Lee away from his hiding spot. She even watched him sit down for dinner, right beside Naruto and Kiba.  
  
"What's wrong, Fuzzy-eyebrows? You looked sad all alone over there..."  
  
"Don't worry about it, Naruto-kun."  
  
Some random barking was heard, and Kiba laughed.  
  
"Akamaru says that he's happy you're social again, Lee."  
  
Lee nodded and let another smile creep across his face.  
  
"Arigato Akamaru.. And you, Kiba."  
  
Kiba nodded before he and Akamaru shared bites of the random food that they were eating, this time it had been made by Kurenai and tasted like a bit of heaven.  
  
Sakura looked across the pile of students, her eyes landing on Lee who had just returned to the main group finally. It had taken a bit of talking by Hinata, but it was nice to see Lee smiling again.. He was even laughing over along side Naruto and Kiba.  
  
"Hinata.. I want to thank you for making Lee smile again."  
  
Hinata stopped and looked over at Sakura. She looked down at her feet. She liked Sakura, but she also thought Lee was a great guy, and to hurt him like that was just mean.  
  
"I made him smile for his own sake. I don't like seeing a friend upset, Sakura-chan..."  
  
Sakura nodded, knowing that Hinata was trying not to tell her that she was slightly upset with Sakura as well. Hinata obviously found it mean the way she had hurt Lee like that.  
  
"I didn't meant o hurt him, Hinata-chan..."  
  
"I know, Sakura-chan.. But he still feels horrible."  
  
Sakura ran a hand through her soft pink hair and looked back over at Lee, then to Hinata.  
  
"It's hard to say 'no' when you know it will break someone's heart, Hinata... But I couldn't just let him believe that I loved him too.."  
  
Hinata nodded, and then began to walk past once more. She planned on going to tell Tenten that her team mate was feeling better now.  
  
Sakura sighed. Poor Lee-kun.. He was so fragile for a person who spent his spare time pushing himself to his physical limits and beyond. 


	8. Cry A Little

Cry A Little  
  
The day had ended peacefully, and Lee put some effort into gathering information for Kakashi-sensei's game. As he pretended to be asleep he listened to Chouji talking about going out for their favourite- Yaminiku- after everything was over. He also heard Shikamaru say back in a rather irritated voice that he was sleeping, and preferred Ramen to Yaminiku anyway.  
  
Chouji continued to blather on and on, giving away much valuable information, to which Lee was sure to lock away in his memory for later.  
  
He learned that Shikamaru had a pet named 'Skipper' which was a turtle. His parents had made him get a pet to prove he was responsible enough to go to the Ninja Academy, and that the turtle was still alive to this date.  
  
He also learned that Shikamaru liked Ino, but found it far too troublesome to pursue said feelings.  
  
Chouji had a little sister that was in the Academy with Konohamaru, and his room was blue.  
  
Lee wasn't quite sure how all of this fit into one lazy conversation, but it did not matter if he was learning what he needed to know.  
  
Kakashi stood outside the tents, he could hear Shikamaru and Chouji talking in hushed voices, and wrote down whatever little bits of information seemed valuable enough. He presumed that both Lee and Sasuke were hearing this and storing the information into their memories... But it was also hard to get information from the lazy Shikamaru, and he would have to take what he could gather.  
  
That and Kakashi was lazy himself, not really desiring to TRY and delve deeper into the person that is Shikamaru.  
  
Too many students did not want to put too much effort into this, anyway, and to make it particularly hard would just be cruel and unusual torture on a retreat that was supposed to be fun for the students,  
  
Morning came and Lee joined up with Naruto to share the information they had gathered, careful not to let anyone overhear.  
  
"Hinata told me some stuff about Ino, but she didn't want to rat any of her friends out in the game. I learned that Ino's favourite colour is navy blue and that her favourite boy to be with other than Sasuke is Shikamaru."  
  
"And?"  
  
"She and Sakura were best friends until they both started liking Sasuke."  
  
Lee looked away for a moment before looking back at Naruto. He had to swallow those sick feelings in his stomach and face the facts that Sakura loved Sasuke.  
  
"Anything else in particular?"  
  
"Uhh... She's got a blonde hair?"  
  
Lee smiled at that and let out a soft chuckle as he looked towards the teachers.  
  
"YOSH!" Gai cried loudly.  
  
Every student and teacher groaned.  
  
"Gai, why don't we just skip your game for now, and go on to something else?" Asuma offered hopefully.  
  
Gai thought it over for a moment.  
  
"All right, it's better played at night-time anyway."  
  
"That makes it your go, Kurenai..." Kakashi said, nudging the only female teacher in the back.  
  
"Oh.. Hai... All right, today we are going to..."  
  
Gazing across their large clearing, 8 or so tents set up in the far distance, Uchiha Sasuke could see a figure running in the distance. This game was much like Kurenai's last two, a game of hunting your prey, and winning through strategy.  
  
The entire group had been separated into two groups.  
  
Team Red- Team Uchiha Leader: Uchiha Sasuke Medical Expert: Haruna Sakura Yamanaka Ino Akamichi Chouji Aburame Shino Hyuuga Neji  
  
Team Blue- Team Lee Leader: Rock Lee Medical Expert: Hyuuga Hinata Tenten Nara Shikamaru Inuzuka Kiba Uzumaki Naruto  
  
From there, every player had been given a backpack and a laser gun, very similar to Laser Tag. The only difference in this game was that If the medical expert found someone who was shot quick enough, they would be allowed to continue in the game. If the leader and medical expert were killed, that team loses.  
  
Kurenai had explained that the idea is similar to actual Jounin missions, a difference in weapons, but otherwise a very similar game. You work in your teams and if people are killed then the mission is considered a failed mission, or rather, it was a completed mission but the point of it was NOT to die.  
  
Sasuke continued to stare, the sun was blinding to him as he stared into it, following the shadow as closely as possible. He was unsure if it was one of his own team mates, or if it was an enemy. He had sent Ino down that way, but what if Ino had been shot? What if this person had spotted him and was coming after him next?  
  
He stalked forwards, using the trees as camouflage, shifting from shadow to shadow in complete silence. He was an excellent leader for his team as few would be able to catch to spot him in the darkness.  
  
He got closer to the figure, and soon found it was Sakura.  
  
But he hadn't sent Sakura down that way.  
  
He took aim and fired, but not before the other person had fired at him as well.  
  
Both were hit, and Naruto dropped the guise of Haruna Sakura, and couldn't help but cheer.  
  
"I SHOT SASUKE!"  
  
"Dying people don't dance like that, Dunce. Lay down and hope that your medical expert gets here."  
  
Sasuke looked furious. Sakura, a team mate and friend.. And perhaps something a little more?  
  
Her face had been used against him. He was livid.  
  
Another figure was approaching cautiously. And Sasuke felt particularly angry at this.  
  
It was Hinata.  
  
It appeared that she had simply been following Naruto, preparing for this exact scenario ahead of time.  
  
Upon tagging Naruto, the kyuubi boy stood up and continued to dance.  
  
"HAH HAH! IN YOUR FACE!"  
  
"Naruto-kun.. We should be quiet or else we met get shot too..." Hinata whispered, and Naruto nodded.  
  
"Right.. Let's go..."  
  
Lee glared through the bushes. He could see Sakura, and with his green body suit he was perfectly camouflaged.  
  
Even Sakura would have a hard time spotting him in his hiding place.  
  
Her hair glittered white from the Sun's golden rays, and as she began to look slowly around her, inspecting her surroundings to the best of her ability. Her eyes shimmered like turquoise pools under the desert sun, inviting. Water for the thirsty man trudging through the wilds. Normally Lee would have found this all to inviting and given in... Shown himself for her to shoot and win.  
  
However, now he felt like she was stalking him at this point, no matter where he went, she was there.  
  
He slowly raised his gun, took special aim...  
  
"Lee-kun?" She appeared to have spotted him. Those beautiful turquoise pools captured his own dark and mysterious orbs.  
  
He fired.  
  
Her backpack flashed, indicating she had been shot, and so she fell to the ground.  
  
Lee turned and walked away, despite Sakura's cry.  
  
Luckily. Sasuke had already been revived. But now they had no medical specialist, they had to take special care.  
  
"I'll get you back for that, Naruto." The Uchiha growled as he took aim from his newest hiding place. He could see Naruto clearly. Naruto's orange outfit was not hard to spot against his green surroundings.  
  
He slowly pulled the trigger, and down Naruto went, shot.  
  
Hinata had been hiding just out of view, now, and was afraid to go help Naruto when she knew she might be shot. How could she help Naruto if she was dead too?  
  
She scanned her surroundings, but found nothing. Sasuke was excellent at hiding, and she did not know his own training style well enough to guess at his hiding place, let alone if it was indeed him that had shot poor Naruto- kun... Instead she slunk back into the darkness, perhaps she should go find Lee and that way she could be sure to protect their leader? But then with both the main targets there, they would be picked off easily. Really, Hinata was the key player for her team, and she was always so shaky during missions... Would it spill out into this game then, as well?  
  
She remembered when they had chosen each player for their team. Naruto had nominated her to be medical specialist, and Lee had offered nothing but encouragement.  
  
"You're an excellent ninja, Hinata-chan. ou'll do an excellent job. I'd place my life in your hands during a mission, just as we all are placing our game lives in you during this game."  
  
Naruto had nodded enthusiastically and yelled, "Yeah! HINATA FOR MEDICAL SPECIALIST!" at the top of his lungs.  
  
"Tell the whole world, baka." She had remembered Kiba saying while smacking Naruto over the head as well.  
  
Hinata shifted her wait in the shadows, waiting silently and patiently. Those were her strong points.  
  
Then she saw something move in the trees.  
  
Raising her gun slowly, she took aim as best as she could while seeing the 360 degrees around her, and fired.  
  
Sasuke cursed loudly at his own stupidity. Of COURSE someone had been with Naruto, the Uzumaki boy would have prepared himself for a return attack for shooting him earlier...  
  
And that made the leader AND Medical Specialist for team red, dead.  
  
The backpacks all let out one loud beep, and the guns shut off, letting the entirity of the large group know that the game was over.  
  
Team Uchiha had LOST.... With the perpetual winner Sasuke and the number one Hyuuga in the entire bloodline, Neji, on the aforementioned losing team.  
  
And Hinata had made the winning strike.  
  
"Way to go, Hinata-chan!" Naruto had said as he practically hugged her from joy, "You beat SASUKE!"  
  
Hinata was blushing furiously now, she had almost been hugged by Naruto- kun...  
  
"A-Arigato, Naruto-kun..."  
  
Lee arrived back at the large clearing first, sitting in the middle of the tents with the teachers looking very proud of himself.  
  
"Does it say who made the winning shot?"  
  
"It says here that Blue's Medical Specialist made the winning shot, which means that Hinata won it for your team."  
  
Lee grinned, his teeth sparkling white against the now setting sun.  
  
Gain looked overjoyed that his pupil was smiling so brightly again.  
  
"I knew Hinata-chan could do it!"  
  
He gave the thumbs up, and Gai responded by striking a pose and returning the thumbs up.  
  
The other teachers stared, but understood Gai's joy at seeing Rock Lee so happy once more. He had become less and less excitable lately, and Gai had been sure Lee was very sick at one point. Kakashi had quickly pointed one thing out to him.  
  
"Girl trouble."  
  
Gai sighed. That was right. He was madly in love with Haruna Sakura, but Sakura loved Sasuke. Everyone knew that.  
  
Hinata tripped.  
  
She had been watching Naruto prance happily about in front of her as they were beginning to return to the tented area. She hadn't noticed the rock in front of her foot, and when she shuffled her foot forwards she tripped.  
  
Naruto noticed this from the corner of his squinted eye and turned quickly, dropping to his knees to catch her.  
  
"N-Naruto-k-kun..." Hinata whispered as Naruto had caught her around the waist, his arms wrapped tightly around her.  
  
Naruto was laughing now, and helped the young Hyuuga girl back to her feet, letting go of her slowly. Slowly, in hopes that perhaps he could suppress his own blush by that point. He hated to admit it, but something about the shy little girl was just... Cute...  
  
Naruto hated the whole romantic relationship idea. But when his eyes caught Hinata's he felt his heart beat just a little faster.  
  
"A-Arigato..."  
  
"No problem, Hinata-chan.."  
  
Hinata blushed the brightest shade of red now, and began to take a step, when she fell to her knees once more. "Ouch!"  
  
Hinata was clutching at her ankle, which was red and rather swollen now, apparently twisted as she had fallen.  
  
Naruto couldn't help but let his inner grin escape. He wasn't happy that Hinata had hurt himself. No. Of course not. He was really sad about that... But this meant he'd get to carry her back to camp...  
  
"Here, Hinata-chan.. I'll piggy-back you back to the teachers."  
  
The students had all gathered, Neji was rather proud of himself for hitting almost all of the other team's players (excluding Hinata and Lee) at least once, which nobody else had done. Even if his team HAD lost, it hadn't been HIS fault. He could blame that on Sakura and Sasuke for not noticing Lee and Hinata fast enough to shoot them.  
  
The teachers had congratulated the students on a game well played.  
  
But Lee was happiest of all.  
  
"I told you that you could do it, Hinata-chan."  
  
"Thank you Lee, you're a good friend." 


	9. There Is

There Is  
  
One again, the next day had been quite uneventful. Gai's silly little games changed drastically into team sparring sessions to which it was an all out Taijutsu match. The winner had been Sasuke barely, Lee in a VERY close second, and then Naruto, Neji, Shino, Kiba, Hinata, Ino, Sakura, Tenten, Chouji, and Shikamaru who had given up because everything was far too troublesome. Sasuke looked rather smug that he had beaten the greatest Taijutsu focused ninja in all of Konoha twice now.  
  
Lee simply shrugged the loss off. He would beat Sasuke, it was his goal. He would simply have to train harder in order to win. He had so many rivalries in progress, but Sasuke's strength bothered him the most. He had stolen all of his moves and trained for only a month to accomplish what Lee had taken years to do...  
  
Oh well. He would simply do 1000 punches followed by 900 kicks and 500 one- armed push-ups later to punish himself. It was no big deal.  
  
Asuma used his newfound intelligence to get Hinata and Neji to have a civil conversation that did not end up in a rant about the Hyuuga house rivalry somehow. The other teachers were beginning to suspect these simple tasks that Asuma kept handing out had something to do with lazy Shikamaru.  
  
The night enveloped the group quickly, leaving 8 quiet tents (excluding the loud snores emanating from Naruto's tent), and 4 wide-awake teachers alone in the wilderness. The inky blackness would be frightening for a normal person, but these beings were Shinobi, those who hide in the shadows... And one who used shadows as a weapon quite literally: Shikamaru's Kagemane-no- jutsu was quite handy when the day began to wane.  
  
"Kakashi, do you think that we're getting anywhere with these children?" Kurenai asked thoughtfully as the full moon peaked overhead.  
  
"Hinata and Lee seem to be developing a friendship. It is quite the unexpected relationship, if you ask me..." Asuma offered to the others, scratching his hairy chin and gazing over the tents as he took a long dragon his cigarette.  
  
"Naruto and Kiba have become good friends as well.. That was more expected, however... They're quite similar on most levels." Kakashi added, his one ½ open eye inspecting Kurenai's face. The eyelid drooped again dully as he plopped his chin in his hand, the elbow propped up on the picnic-style table they were currently residing at.  
  
Gai was looking around the tents, his eyes finally narrowing on Lee's. It was placed so far away from everyone else's... It was not like Lee to act so antisocial.  
  
"Shino and Sasuke." Maito Gai said nonchalantly, "They're communicating with other people.. Namely each other..."  
  
The other teachers saw his preoccupied stare, and decided to pick up on a conversation Gai might be interested in, even with its negative connotations... And the idea that they would purposely be getting Gai to speak to them.  
  
"Rock Lee has not been acting the part of himself lately." Kakashi finally said after a long, awkward pause. The other teachers held their breaths.  
  
"Something is wrong.. I have never seen him act so... WRONG."  
  
Gai seemed to look frustrated, as though he couldn't quite tell for sure why Lee cared so much about Sakura, or why Sakura did not care for Lee.  
  
He was smart, funny, kind, and he was an able-bodied young man that chose to wear clothes that showed off a physique that few could match. He was the only thirteen year old in all of Konoha with a six-pack. Should the ladies not find this attractive?  
  
Gai sighed.  
  
Kakashi had a similar train of thought, though his was offering the idea that perhaps if Lee did NOT wear a spandex body suit he may be able to win the hearts of a few more ladies...  
  
Asuma was simply thinking about how few cigarettes he had left on this stupid trip. One pack... ONLY one pack... To last him 3 more days... Sigh.  
  
Kurenai was far more intrigued into the nuances of young love. She was the woman, and was forced to offer up her almighty knowledge of a young girl's mind.  
  
"Sakura has cared about Sasuke for a while now. If you paid attention to them even as youths, Sakura followed Sasuke around blushing constantly.. This crush had lasted for over six years now, and has probably developed even further into young love due to their natural closeness from being on the same team. Sakura probably cares more for Sasuke than she has ever cared for someone before, and when she learned Lee looked at he the way she looks at Sasuke, it probably shocked her. She is an intelligent girl, but is less capable with words when not describing a nin- or genjutsu... She likely unintentionally hurt Lee's feelings, and thus left Lee to nurse his wounded heart without really understanding that he cared about her as much as she cares about Sasuke. Besides that, one can even see Sasuke becoming more and more fond of Sakura when looking at his actions to little things. For instance, he had made Sakura the medical specialist for their game, he justified the reason well, but one could tell that Neji would have been far more desirable with his 360 degree vision. He also seems far more comfortable around Sakura than any other female, myself included..."  
  
Kakashi nodded, absorbing the words and placing them into his memories for further reference.  
  
Asuma nodded, letting her words go in one ear and out the other as he stared at her ruby red lips, moving... Moving... They looked so soft...  
  
Gai coughed before looking as though the words had gone completely over his head.  
  
"Oh! Right! So... Lee... Likes Sakura... Sakura... Likes Lee.... And is too shy to say it?"  
  
Kakashi looked irritatedly at Gai while Kurenai leaned over and slapped him.  
  
"Baka."  
  
"Now.. Listen carefully Gai... Kurenai explained this once... Lee Likes Sakura, but Sakura likes SASUKE.. NOT LEE. Sakura like SASUKE, and therefore hurt Lee when she said NO to him.."  
  
Gai nodded again, then looked sadly over at Lee's tent.  
  
"But why does Sakura not like Lee?"  
  
"Because she likes Sasuke." Kakashi said as though it should answer any questions he had.  
  
Gai looked as though he might press further, but simply sighed and let his broad shoulder slump down in defeat.  
  
The teachers looked at each other, realizing that Gai was crying slightly, a few little tears rolling down his cheeks and onto his strong chin, dripping down to the soft earth.  
  
"It hurts."  
  
Kakashi nodded, as did Kurenai.  
  
Gai had felt the same way about Kurenai at one point, only to have his heart stomped on by the beautiful young woman. She had loved another as well, but had never told him who. He had presumed it was the great Kakashi... Kakashi, his eternal rival.  
  
Asuma continued to stare blankly ahead, puffing on his cigarette absent- mindedly as he though about himself when he was young. He had liked a young Kurenai as well, but was too shy to say so. She had been on his team, and the two had never spoken much... All he knew was that she was absolutely beautiful, and she had, had beautiful, ruby red lips...  
  
Yuuhi Kurenai felt most sorry for Sakura, she had been in that position as a youth as well. Gai had fallen in love with her, while she imagined her own wedding to a handsome toothpick-chewing young ebon-haired boy. He had constantly had a toothpick in his mouth, gnawing on the end, and when he was done with one he would spit it out and pop another one in. The slack- jawed look across his face was most attractive as the toothpick would appear to be falling out, but always just catch on his upper lip so it slanted downwards at an odd angle. Yes... Sarutobi Asuma had always been an attractive young boy...  
  
Kakashi simply chuckled at them all. Each on of them seemed lost in memories. The only thing that he really remembered from his youth was the way that his teacher had an insanely sly grin he used whenever he planned on giving them a tough mission... Then that proud, broad smile for every time they completed it, slightly sharper canines giving the slight impression of fangs... How he saw his own teacher, Yondaime, in young Naruto. They were so very similar... Both with their shocking blonde hair, azure blue eyes, fox-like grin and even their laugh. Yes... Naruto acted exactly like his father.  
  
The teacher snapped from their memories almost simultaneously, each looking at the next worriedly. Asuma had found himself daydreaming as he stared at the sky, Kurenai had been gazing at Asuma from the corner of her eye, and Gai had been looking at Kurenai as though she had broken his heart once more.  
  
Kakashi simply chuckled at them all.  
  
"Let's call it a night for now..." The silver-haired Jounin offered.  
  
Morning came swiftly, the sun peaking over the horizon as though it was unsure as to if it reveal itself yet. When it was sure it was safe, it leaped up to greet the world in all its splendor.  
  
Naruto groaned that the sun must be rising earlier, and Shikamaru lazily offered that it was impossible for it to be rising noticeably earlier until later this year...  
  
Naruto began to argue, but was swatted swiftly by a tired Sakura. She plopped herself down and yawned widely, wiping sleep from her eyes and running a hand through her amazingly untangled hair.  
  
Naruto looked at Sakura as though it should be impossible for her to look that good in the mornings. Her wrinkle-less pink, silk pajamas fit to her curves attractively, her hair was perfect this morning and even as she yawned her lips only parted slightly. Naruto remembered a mental image of Kiba yawning in a way that looked like his jaw had unhinged like a snake.  
  
Naruto then turned his gaze away from Sakura towards the approaching Hinata. Her hair was slightly messy, tousled but nice-looking. In one hand she carried a small teddy bear with bright blue buttons for eyes and a little hitai-ate tied around its belly. Her teddy bear-covered blue pajamas were loose on her body in a comfortable manner, and she even wore fuzzy blue slippers.  
  
"Ohayo, Naruto-kun." Hinata said softly as she sat down next to him.  
  
"Ohayo, Hinata-chan.. How is your ankle?"  
  
"It doesn't hurt to walk on it any more thanks to Kurenai-sensei.. Thank you again for carrying me to the teachers, Naruto-kun..."  
  
Naruto blushed as he reached back and scratched the back of his head in an embarrassed manner.  
  
"No problem, Hinata-chan!"  
  
"Ano sa! Hinata!"  
  
The shy girl turned and looked at Lee as he approached. He was wearing forest green pajamas that were much looser on him than his daily attire. The trim on them was silver as he took a seat across from both  
  
Naruto and Hinata.  
  
"Ohayo, Hinata, Naruto!"  
  
Naruto nodded with a wide grin at Lee.  
  
Lee's normally perfectly gelled ebony hair was in complete disarray, tousled in a wind-swept way somehow. His bangs were brushed to one side to reveal a bit of hairline, making his usual bowl-cut haircut looked almost normal.  
  
Naruto laughed in his bright orange pajamas, he leaned over the table and messed up his own hair in an attempt to put it in its proper spiky, crumpled look.  
  
"You're feeling better, I hope?" Lee asked as he turned to Hinata, and the Hyuuga girl nodded with a small smile.  
  
The three continued on into a conversation about this and that, Kiba and Akamaru joining in at one point (Kiba translating Akamaru's points for them), and even Sasuke said a few words every now and then.  
  
"Lee-kun.. Can I speak to you?"  
  
The simple sentence froze the entire conversation.  
  
Naruto looked at Sakura, Hinata as well, and Sasuke looked slightly shocked at the especially kind way that she was gazing at the back of Lee's head.  
  
"I'm busy right now."  
  
The one sentence answer hurt Sakura almost as much as Sakura had hurt Lee that night while watching the sun set.  
  
"Please, Lee-kun? It's really important..."  
  
Lee slowly stood up, turning to face Sakura with all emotion drained from his face, He followed her away from the rest of the children, away to the far side of camp and behind a couple of tents.  
  
"Lee... Why are you- -"  
  
She was cut off by Lee's silencing glare.  
  
"How do you have the nerve to speak to me as if this is all my fault? I told you how I felt about you and all you can say is 'Sorry'? I loved you, Sakura. I loved you with all of my heart, and you took that heart and shattered it. Please, don't even bother trying to make me feel better. I'm happy with my new friends."  
  
Lee tossed one more cold look at Sakura before turning and walking swiftly away, not even bothering to look back.  
  
".. Lee.. You're nothing like you were just a few days ago... Where did my best friend go?"  
  
".... He realized that he would always be second to Sasuke," A small voice in Sakura's head said quietly, "and that meant he couldn't have me.." 


	10. If My Heart Had Wings

This ones for all of you guys who reviewed this fic already!

That means you guys: Unita Vis Fortior, Cookie6, Trutenor, Kashisenshey, Anonymous, LiveLoveLaugh, and Kimmy!

And to answer the widely asked question so far: It is not a Sakura/Lee fic, sorry to disappoint anyone who was looking forward to it! coughKimmycough

To answer your question, Mr. Anonymous dude: Neji and Hinata lost the Taijutsu match because I used the idea that Lee Sasuke and Naruto are top when it comes to fighting, especially Lee in a Taijutsu match. I amde him lose to Sasuke because Sasuke-kun has beaten him before. Naruto lost to Lee because Lee is a Taijutsu master. Naruto beat Neji because Naruto CAN beat Neji, especially seeing as Naruto doesn't lose to those he hates.. And in this fic Naruto hates Neji. Hinata lost because though she is an excellent fighter, she is shy, and does not want to fight Naruto or Neji, so she basically let herself lose.. No big deal, as long as she preforms well on missions it's all good, right?

There ya go.

SPECIAL SHOUT OUT TO CRYSTAL HIKARI FOR EDITING THESE CHAPTERS! (excluding my crappy Author's Notes) You rock dude. Word.

If My Heart Had Wings  
  
Lee gazed lazily out over the open field, trees barricading them in... Or rather, protecting them from the outside, keeping them safe from the storm that was life.  
  
The shadows of those trees, they seemed not only menacing; hiding dark and hideous creatures, but inviting; welcoming the ninjas of the hidden leaf into their arms to protect them..  
  
The leaves danced gracefully in the wind, picking up his still untidy hair and tossing it wildly about his head, the colours of summer diving through the air and sweeping the dew-covered grass gently, caressing it like a lover's touch.  
  
"Ano Sa! Lee!"  
  
Lee turned to stare at Naruto, who was approaching with Hinata at his side. His blonde hair swayed in the wind, and he let out a loud laugh at the way Konoha's Proud Azure Beast looked with wind ruffling his normally tidy hair, and wearing rumpled green pajamas.  
  
Hinata giggled slightly despite herself. The way Naruto laughed... Hell, the way Naruto did just about anything made her smile. He was so independent, so... Strong... So different from herself, and it made her want to be better... Just for him.  
  
Naruto turned when he heard the almost silent giggle from Hinata, and smiled that insanely canine grin. Hinata blushed and Naruto scratched the back of his head, blushing in response.  
  
Lee tried not to ruin the moment with his own laughter. They were looking at each other with faces a deeper red than Kurenai's blood-coloured eyes.  
  
"Hinata-chan..." Naruto began, looking away and bringing his hands up tentatively before him. His index fingers began to pent slightly as he looked anywhere but at Hinata's eyes.  
  
Hinata's response was similar, though she had focused her attention at her feet, wiggling her toes over and over. She was counting them, painted a pale blue..  
  
Yup. She sure did have ten toes.  
  
"Naruto-kun..."  
  
"Hinata..."  
  
Hinata looked up, gathering her courage...  
  
Naruto was staring her in the eyes right now, his azure gaze reading her own eyes better than Hinata's Byakuugan's ever could.  
  
Leaning in, he planted a gentle kiss on her cheek, turned and walked off, hoping he was playing the role of handsome stranger that plays with girl's emotions just as well as those guys on TV...  
  
Hinata's cheeks had gone a new shade of red now, one that she presumed her body had just invented.  
  
She watched Naruto walk away from her, the hands stuffed in his pockets as he trudged forwards, looking like the embarrassed pre-teen that he was.  
  
The rumpled orange jacket he always wore, matching his bright orange pants that he wore more has Capri-pants than anything. The messy hair that may have been brushed once in his entire life time... Those bright blue eyes, pools of hope and desires, destiny shining from them... That smile, different from anyone else's...  
  
She let out a small adoring sigh as he walked away.  
  
"Hinata-chan. did I not tell you that he cared about you?"  
  
Hinata's blush faded, but she was smiling widely now. She had just remembered that Lee was standing there..  
  
Watching her dreams unfold before her.  
  
She nodded in response, clasping her hands together before she practically skipped over to Lee and gave him a hug.  
  
"Arigato, Lee-kun!"  
  
"For what? I didn't do anything.." Lee let out a slight chuckle as he embraced one of his newest friends. He felt so happy for her. Had it been a few days ago he might have been jealous of their happy story, but now he felt nothing but genuine happiness. That was the gift of a few true friends, he supposed.  
  
"You helped me believe in myself... I would have been too shy to talk to him myself.."  
  
Lee chuckled once more as Hinata pulled away. She looked so full of energy that she might burst, it was unusual for Hinata, but he admired it.  
  
".. I'm going to go pick some flowers for Naruto-kun.. Do you want to come with me, Lee?"  
  
Lee nodded slowly, following the happy girl across the open field.  
  
Yes, he decided, these trees are protecting our youthful innocence, our happiness.. And those shadows are hiding friends, not foes.. For nothing bad could happen right now.  
  
Sasuke looked across the fire-pit at Sakura, her perfect cotton-candy coloured hair swayed in the wind, not ruffling or becoming messy in any way.. No, it made her look like some kind of model, facing a pre-set fan in order to get that attractive windy look... Not that Sasuke watched those.. No... He did not have time to watch stupid TV shows or commercials, and nor did he read silly magazines... No.. He trained, he would become the greatest fighter in all of  
  
Konoha.. Just to beat his eternal rival, yet friend, Naruto.  
  
But right now, he was watching Sakura.  
  
He was not sure WHY he was watching Sakura, it was not as though it would help him in his own Sensei's stupid game, no, he already knew almost everything about Sakura...He was just... Watching her anyway.  
  
He raised his pented fingers up before him, propping his elbows on his knees and hunching voer so he was simply gazing over his fingers at her. He knew she liked that.  
  
But WHY he would do that if he knew she liked that, he did not know.  
  
Sakura turned to face him now, catching his gaze with her own... Pools of turquoise, shimmering like... Well... Shimmering pools of turquoise... Sasuke never was that good at coming up with metaphorical statements... So, shimmering pools of turquoise would do.  
  
He tilted his head downwards, shading his obsidian eyes with his bangs, how did Sakura say that made him look? Angsty? Mysterious? Whichever it was, it made her blush when she said it.  
  
He hoped she would catch that look, perhaps her smooth, milky cheeks would blush pink? It looked so good when she blushed...  
  
He coughed slightly when he thought that, turning his dark gaze from her. A loud sound had caught his attention..  
  
He found himself staring instead at a verbal war between Kiba and Akamaru.  
  
"I DO NOT LIKE HER!"  
  
Barks were the only response.  
  
"You're joking, right? That's just gross.. EWW! COUTIES!"  
  
Sasuke glared darkly at Kiba who continued to shout. That had possibly ruined that perfect moment between himself and Sakura...  
  
Wait a second.. Why did he care if a moment between himself and Sakura had been ruined? He didn't like her. He didn't like ANYONE.. Girls were a waist of time, far too clingy, and weak...  
  
But she was so smart... If it weren't for her they might have died several times on missions that turned out to be far more dangerous than those assigned to young gennins....  
  
And then there was that time against Gaara she had put her life on the line to rescue him...  
  
.. Okay... So, maybe he liked Sakura just a LITTLE more than as a friend... No big deal. Still not worth telling her. No.. Then she'd become like Ino and Tenten again. That would be VERY bad.  
  
"Asuma, is this another one of your brilliant plots to get groups of students together?" Kurenai asked sarcastically, gazing through crimson eyes at her fellow jounin.  
  
"Yeah, sure.. That means my turn gets skipped, so let's go with that." Sarutobi Asuma leaned back in his chair.. He loved these chairs, those ones in the bags that you can fold up... They were comfy, and took up so little room... He also loved the fact that the cup holder was big enough to hold an ash tray for his cigarette as well.  
  
Kurenai shook her head as she instead looked towards Kakashi.  
  
"Our teams will have to gather more often, if Naruto and Hinata's relationship keeps budding as it is.." She said slowly, gazing over the crowd of students at the two aforementioned students. Hinata was handing a bouquet of wild roses to a blushing Naruto, who was declaring that the women should not be giving flowers to the men, and that it should be other way around.  
  
"I guess I'll have to pick an even bigger bouquet for you to make up for it!"  
  
Kakashi chuckled behind his mask at this, watching The Fourth's Legacy go running out to the field to pluck even more flowers for Hinata.  
  
"Perhaps.. They both may pass the chuunin exam next month, then they will either be forced closer together or farther apart.. We will see."  
  
Asuma turned his head towards Kakashi who had already turned his all-knowing gaze down to his hamburger... How the HELL was he supposed to eat this thing without taking off his mask?  
  
The Prodigy of Konoha was very preoccupied now, he had his chance to bother Kurenai to the breaking point once more...  
  
"You should stop staring at him like that, you know.." Asuma said after a moment.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Kakashi.. You should stop staring at him like that. He may be busy, but he sees a lot more than what his Sharingan allows him."  
  
"I'm not staring at him.."  
  
"Oh really? There's a bit of drool in the corner of your mouth there."  
  
Reflexively Kurenai lifted her hand to touch and wipe away said offending spittle.  
  
She found that there was none, and turned her deadly gaze upon the lazy Sarutobi.  
  
"Baka."  
  
"You know I'm teasing, love."  
  
"... I hate you."  
  
"I love you too, darling."  
  
Kurenai looked away in anger, standing and storming off towards her own tent.  
  
"It's true though, ya know.. I love you.." Asuma muttered to himself. How he WANTED to say it to Yuuhi Kurenai, but his reputation as a jerk had to be maintained.. That and he would be far too embarrassed to do such a thing.  
  
Asuma sighed, stood, and decided to go to the forest, possibly to... relieve himself or some other such thing, whichever.  
  
And Hatake Kakashi, after his last hour of pondering, suddenly came to the only conclusion possible for eating WITHOUT removing his mask.  
  
"Aww crap."  
  
And he threw the hamburger over his shoulder. He couldn't completely destroy that air of mysteriousness that floated about him NOW! That mask was the only thing that was still intriguing about him. Everyone knew he had a Sharingan eye and an awesome scar... Maybe they'd think he had some sort of... Snake tongue or something...  
  
He liked keeping people guessing, and a hamburger would not destroy that..  
  
Until dinner time comes around and he realizes he hasn't eaten in about 3 days in order to protect that air of mysteriousness.  
  
But until then, he would convince everyone he had a snake tongue.


	11. Take Me Away

Hey, thanks again for the reviews

Kepelus: Thanks for the review! I try to incorporate humor and everything else into a fic, it's not as fun unless you can laugh once in a while, right? I decided to make a Sasu/Saku pairing because I figured that even Sakura deserves somebody. I have a few ideas so it's not just a happy ending for everyone... I hope it will satisfy your hopes for this fic! As for Lee, you'll have to wait and see... But considering that he's this Authoress' 2nd favorite character, you can hold high hopes...

MRS. Anonymous LADY: Sorry! I didn't know that you were female, else I would not have been so rude as to call you male My apologies! Anyway, thanks for the compliment!

Everyone Else Who Has Bothered To Read This Far: Word! Thanks for the reviews and for just reading it, ya know? It means a lot to this Kakashi-obsessed girl to know that there's people out there that enjoy mah writing style!

Take me Away

Time had passed so quickly now, Lee was astounded at how quickly the heartache seemed to fade. Now it didn't hurt to breath... No, it just hurt to face the beautiful Cherry Blossom, now. That dull ache in his chest was even less noticeable when laughing with Naruto and Kiba, or speaking secrets to Hinata. It was insane how quickly he had grown to trust that girl. Five days of the seven had passed, and already Hinata was like a little sister to him.

Truth be told, he trusted Hinata with more secrets now than he had trusted with Sakura only days ago...

He looked out. The sun was setting, and he was admiring those colours. He wasn't afraid to gaze at the hues that reminded him of Sakura anymore, no, now in the blues he could see his friend Naruto's eyes. In the reds and pinks he saw Hinata's blushing cheeks. In the woodsy greens he saw Kiba and Akamaru chasing leaves. In the golden rays of sun that broke through the deciduous foliage, he saw hope. That warmth that he had felt around Lady Haruna had now resurfaced in a different way.

Lee had true, honest-to-God friends.

Wiping a tear from the corner of his eye, he put the memory of sunsets and cherry blossoms behind him; instead he looked towards the boy who bared the name of Spiral. The boy that seemed to know just how to heal broken hearts, for he too had shared one and had pieced it back together.

Uzumaki Naruto.

Speaking of which..

"ANO SA! LEE!" The obsidian-eyed beast turned to gaze over his shoulder. He had spent almost all day gazing over this field, watching the sun change places and the shadows shift and change. The wind tickled the grass and made the flowers dance, and it was beautiful to him.. But nothing could beat the sight of Naruto, Kiba, and Hinata jogging up behind him.

"Konbanwa, Naruto-kun! Kiba-kun! Hinata-chan!"

His smile lit up, reflecting the colours of the setting sun as he spun fully to face them, giving them a traditional thumbs up.

"It's dinner time, Lee!" Kiba said, carrying two plates with him, one obviously meant for Lee.

Hinata was carrying her own plate and a small one for Akamaru, and Naruto trudged along carrying two plates for himself.

"We thought we would join you, Lee-kun!" Hinata said with a bright smile, not as flashy, but one to rival Lee's own.

The three new arrivals.. Well.. four if you count the playful puppy Akamaru.. The four new arrivals plopped themselves down on the grass next to Lee, their silhouettes the only things fully viewable from their campsites.

"Ano Sa, Lee..." Naruto began tentatively.

"Hai, Naruto-kun?"

"Sakura-chan has been asking about you all day, afraid to approach you herself... She wants to say sorry."

Lee shook his head, but a small smile splayed across his face.

"I know she does, but I cannot forgive her just yet.. My heart won't let me.. If she asks again, tell her that time will heal all, but to keep her distance, would you?"

Three of his new friends nodded, and the fourth barked cheerfully as he chased a butterfly about.

"He says 'Alright, but Kiba will have to translate for me'" Laughed Kiba as he scratched the back of his head, gaining a trait from their fox demon comrade.

"Anyway..." Naruto broke off, fiddling with a flower in his hand. He had picked every rose in the valley that he could find, every rose just for Hinata.. But he wanted to give her this special flower now, as he asked her the most important thing of his life.

"Hinata-chan.."

Kiba and Lee turned to watch as Hinata looked up at Naruto, her cheeks the same shade of pink as the sky was slowly turning.

"H-Hai, N-Naruto-kun?"

"Hinata-chan.. Would you.."

The romantic tension was building, and Lee was having a hard time holding in his smile.

Naruto lifted the small flower. It was a Lilly of the Valley, Hinata-chan's favorite...

Hinata looked at the flower, and slowly reached out to touch it, the many small blossoms shaped like bells dangled lazily from their stem. The wind picked up and they gently swayed as Naruto took her hand and placed the delicate white flower in her palm.

"Hinata-chan, would you be my... Be... Be my..."

Hinata was already nodding as she held the flower to her heart. She was the heir to the Hyuuga clan, where gifts rained down on he. She was a princess to them, but..

"Naruto-kun, this is the most heartwarming and beautiful gift I have ever received..."

He shy voice almost cracked as she leaned in and hugged the fox demon boy.

Naruto, shocked, looked down at her as she latched herself about his waist and chest.. Her head was buried into his chest, her cheeks a bright pink and a smile more beautiful than the sunset around them was dancing across her lips.

She hugged her gently in response holding her to his chest and gently placing his own head over hers, almost protectively.

When they finally began to pull away, Naruto couldn't help but pull her back for a gentle kiss, one he was so afraid of giving...

Hinata was even more shocked but felt like her heart might leap from her chest in excitement. She had dreamed of this day for about two years now.. The day that she and Naruto would be together.

Upon ending the gentle kiss, the two heard claps in the background.

"Congrats, Hinata-chan, Naruto-kun!" Kiba said as he and Lee applauded them, Akamaru hopping up and licking both Naruto and Hinata in turn.

Lee was smiling, his friends, two of his best friends as of now, were happy together...

He did well to fight back the tears. He was so happy for them! They could be happy together, and maybe when they got older he could be the best man at their wedding...

The happiness shone through his face, but his eyes seemed oddly glazed over.

His heart was beating darkly in his chest as he turned his back to the sunset once more. It shadowed his face now, and though he smiled and that was good enough for Naruto and Hinata, a pang of an emotion less pleasant struck Lee then. It hurt him to think it. It squeezed his kind heart and made him choke on the bit of food in his mouth.

'Why couldn't that be me?' he silently asked himself, 'Naruto got Hinata... But why couldn't I get a girl?'

Rock Lee was jealous.


	12. Forever Watching

This one's for SHINO FANS! Especially those who like Shino/Hina... I dunno, I think Shino liking Hinata is very cute but Naruto is the only one for Hina-chan! Later on may be some more Sasu/Saku, as well.. Depends on how I feel when I get down that far.

Forever Watching

Shino watched from the campsite, having begun the fire and was now watching his insect counterparts flitter in and around the dancing flames. The fire could not hurt them easily, and they were drawn to it so. Long ago he had taught them that fire meant pain, and they appeared to be heading his warnings accordingly, but their curious natures continued to draw them to the blaze.

With the small blaze reflecting from his dark sunglasses, one could not see what he was looking at, but his eyes were trained upon the horizon. He could see his two team mates, Uzumaki Naruto and Rock Lee laughing, throwing grass in each other's faces, and other such childish nonsense.

Being sure that nobody could see his twitching mouth over the collar to his long jacket, he let a small smile play across his lips.

Hinata was laughing.

Ever since he was a young child, Aburame Shino watched Hyuuga Hinata, watched her from the shadows.

Forever watching.

He was drawn to her eyes, to her beautiful smile, to her rosy cheeks and infectious laughter. She was shy, but behind that wall she placed between herself and the world was the most attractive person Aburame Shino had ever met. So he watched her, being sure that none tore down that protective wall and dared to harm that perfect girl.

He could never bear to see that perfect smile fade, and those pink cheeks turn pale..

And her eyes, they could not lose their wintery twinkle, like freshly fallen snow on Christmas morning...

Shino liked Christmas.

And Christmas was in Hinata's eyes.

Shino dared to narrow his eyes at the Uzumaki boy who seemed to be the source of Hinata's mirth. He would have to watch him now, as well.

He couldn't very well let him break her poor, fragile heart now, could he?

No. For Aburame Shino was forever watching, always protecting his Hinata.

Forever Watching.. Forever Protecting..

He stood slowly then left the fire, his insect comrades flitting away from the embers behind him.

Now would be as good a time as any to introduce himself properly to Uzumaki Naruto, would it not?

Haruna Sakura gazed just as warily over to the horizon, watching the same mirth-filled scene as the insect master.

Her turquoise eyes twinkled slightly as she watched Rock Lee spit out a few blades of grass, care of Kiba in their small grass war. Poor Lee was losing terribly, not wanting to throw the grass at anyone... Ironically for fear of getting it in their mouths.

She sighed, remembering when they playfully tossed grass in each other's faces, laughing as they watched the sun's journey over the horizon. They were good times, times that no other moments could possibly have compared to... Except that glorious day when she had been placed in a three man cell with Uchiha Sasuke...

Sasuke...

Lee...

Their faces shone two different lights.

Sasuke was the dark one, with angst-filled ebony eyes that twinkled red when in the heat of a hard battle. That sexy smirk that left every girl in utter desire, none could ever, EVER match that smirk. Every word he said was in the most attractive, low voice that Sakura could only imagine being whispered into her ear at night... Perhaps being passed on to their eldest son...

Lee... Rock Lee... He was anything BUT angsty, with his cheery smile that could- quite literally- light up a room. His ebony hair cut into a perfect bowl shape, leaving the onlooker with that slight giggle.. His obsidian eyes with their joyful twinkle wherever he went.

That twinkle... It was always there until Sakura had wiped it away.

It hurt her, left her heart turning flip-flops in her chest as she gazed at the glazed-over look that could come across Lee's face now...

Oh how she wanted that old Rock Lee back!

.... But she wanted Sasuke more.

Dark eyes gazed intently at the shadows on the hill, the sun setting gracefully behind them. He could see and name each person on that hill, starting from Uzumaki Naruto.

Their joy at spending time with each other was something Sasuke only felt in the heat of battle, something sparking within him and making him feel at home again.

Until Uzumaki Naruto came into his life.

Naruto's smile, mischievous eyes, and all around persona changed Sasuke from what he once was, and now he couldn't help but feel a little jealous of the boy.

He was making new friends so easily, but Sasuke was afraid to move beyond that circle of friends he had spent a long time with. They had spent an entire year warming up to him, breaking down his great wall of instability one piece at a time.

Yes, he finally had made friends.

So when he looked at Naruto with his friends, and what appeared to be someone even closer to him.. Perhaps a girlfriend.. Sasuke would feel jealous, he wished he could walk up to someone and just proclaim that they were his friend... But he could not. Nope. Sasuke was forced to wait for others to come to him.

He supposed that's why he liked Sakura so much. Her persistent efforts, always trying to find a way into his frozen heart, it made him see her as someone different after a while. She was not just a love-sick brat, but someone that wanted to be his FRIEND.

HIS friend.

He slowly opened up the door, letting Sakura through, but he was afraid of letting in more.. What if they got hurt?

Right, another reason to block out everyone else.

The last time he had cared about people, they had died, been murdered at Uchiha Itaachi's hands. Yes, even his brother... For the Uchiha Itaachi of now was not Sasuke's nii-san... No, he was the man who killed everything dear to the young boy..

There were many reasons as to why Sasuke let so few past the barriers of his heart, but now he could see a few things differently. Friends made him stronger... Naruto became stronger for each friend he fought for. Hyuuga Neji fell to Naruto's hands because he was fighting in the honor of Hyuuga Hinata. Gaara of the Desert had fallen to Naruto's hands because Naruto was fighting to protect both Sakura-chan and himself- Sasuke.

The shook his ebon-haired head and noticed the light was almost gone, only a few rays of red-orange light clung to the earth in a pitiful attempt to escape nap-time.

"Sakura-chan!"

And Sakura turned.

Naruto yawned, oblivious to the fact that the grass war was still continuing. He had a mouthful of natural green goodness care of Rock Lee before he was able to belt out what he planned on saying.

"Time for bed!" He choked, spitting out the grass as he said it. The spittle-covered blades landed squarely on Inuzuka Kiba's face.

"Gross, man... That's just gross."

Kiba wiped the grass from his face and then faked a gag as he glared daggers at the fox-demon incarnate.

"Gomen!"

It was a half-hearted response, but all that Kiba needed. They stood up slowly, Naruto helping his new OFFICIAL girlfriend from her seat.

With grass in their hair and in between teeth, they scurried off towards the tents, Naruto and Hinata walking behind the others.

Lee unzipped his tent and clamored in, waving goodbye to his friends, and dropping onto his sleeping bag with a loud 'Oomph!'

Kiba jogged off to find his tent as well, leaving Naruto and Hinata alone.

Strolling casually through the crowd of filling tents, they eventually reached the sleeping quarters of Hinata and Tenten, the latter of which was staring out the screen door of the tent at the other Hyuuga.

"Sayonara, Naruto-kun..." Hinata said with another small blush, leaning in and planting a kiss on his own crimson cheek.

"Sayonara Hinata-chan... Sleep tight.."

The girl slipped into her tent, where Tenten grinned and went into a launch about this and that... and Neji.

Naruto, however, was in the middle of his trot back to his own tent when..

"Uzumaki Naruto."

He turned to face the darkness, the only hint that someone was there being the shine of light off of two, round sunglass lenses.


	13. One Thing

Gah... I dunno how this plot's gonna go anymore! I had an idea at one point, and now it's just flown out the window! Oh well...

One Thing

The floating glasses stepped from the shadows, revealing a boy no older than Naruto, dressed in a long, pale coat with a high collar. Spiky black hair was pushed back by a ninja Hitai-Ate, leaving no guesses as to the identity of this boy.

"Shino?"

"Naruto.. I would like to speak with you on subject matters that are rather, personal."

Naruto scratched the back of his head, wondering what all that gibberish meant, but nodded and followed the boy anyway.

They walked for a good three or four minutes, their surroundings: the woods.

"Gomen.. But what do you want?"

Shino stopped and turned, gazing through those ebony shades, his expression hidden not only by his collar and glasses, but by the darkening shadows about them.

"Hinata-chan.. What is she to you?"

Naruto was stunned by the question, but thought of the words to describe it.. He had so few good things in his life, save a few good friends and Hinata...

"She's... Everything."

Shino smiled, though the action was well hidden. It had been the answer he was hoping for.

"If you hurt her, I will know."

It was the last thing the mysterious Aburame said before disappearing off into the night.

"Nani?" Naruto blinked once, twice, and then a third time before turning and striding back towards the tents...

"That was weird..."

_Ahh, Naruto. My trust lies within the boy demon.._

Shino watched from the night... Forever watching.

"Nani?" Her cherry-blossom hair arced around her face as she swung around to regard the source of her exclaimed name.

"Sasuke-kun?"

She had recognized the voice, it was obviously Sasuke's low, angsty tune, but the person to match was nowhere to be seen...

"Sakura-chan?" Ino was in front of her now.

"Ino! What do you want?"

"You looked all day dreamy, my big-foreheaded friend, and then you called out for Sasuke.. I was wondering what you were doing..."

"... Nothing, Ino-pig... Nothing.."

Sasuke glared down at his own two hands... Why the HELL had he chosen to do such a foolish thing? Sakura might have seen the blush on his cheeks, or the desperate look in his eyes... Or something like that... And then what would have happened if she thought he liked her? He'd have her clinging off of him like some sort of... clingy, thing.

Yes, Sasuke REALLY sucked at metaphors.

But WHY did he do it? It was just some sort of random impulse...

He did not understand how on earth Naruto lived as just one big impulse, when Sasuke had almost torn down everything he had spent so long building up on one, stupid impulse.

The impulse to call his friend a friend...

Now that would DEFFINATELY make Sakura all... clingy. He remembered the first time he had acknowledged her existence... She was literally latched onto his leg for three full hours.

That was one hell of a day, and this could have been one hell of another one...

He finally lifted his gaze from his hands, looking about his tent until he found two eyes gazing lazily back at him.

"What was that about?" Shikamaru asked after a long moment.

Sasuke shook his head, stating a dull 'None of your business', before wrapping himself up in his black sleeping bag and going to sleep.

He would forget about this overnight, and then tomorrow would be good again, right?

Shikamaru shrugged, it was far too troublesome to analyze someone else's feelings or thoughts, let alone get someone as silent and angsty as SASUKE to speak about them.

He fell back asleep within a few moments, dreaming sweet dreams about... Well... That's Shikamaru's business, and what he dreams about should be of no concern to the rest of us... You could make up your OWN little thoughts about what he dreams about, like perhaps he's dreaming about ponies... or for all of you fluffy hopeless romantics, perhaps he's dreaming of Yamanaka Ino. Those of you rabid fangirls may well believe he's dreaming about each of you...

But whatever it was, Shikamaru smiled in his sleep.

And Sasuke frowned.


	14. Legacy

Hey, poll-thingy. tell em where you guys want this to go from here, would ya?

Back to Rock Lee stuff!

Legacy

Lee gazed at the ceiling of his tent for a long time. Chouji was fast asleep, allowing for some real quiet time for the youthful Shinobi.

He reached up and touched his chest, seemingly groping to find that heart of his... Absentmindedly he gazed down at his sleeve.. Perhaps he wore her heart there?

He let out a small sight as his gaze returned to the ceiling.

He shouldn't feel this way. He should feel HAPPY for Naruto and Hinata, right? They were together finally, just what everyone had been waiting for, right?

Right?

But why couldn't Lee get the girl for once? Was he not a perfect gentleman? Was he not a strong, and honourable Shinobi? Did he not play the hero properly?

Was Lee just not good enough?

He knew he was not the greatest looking of the boys, but he always figured that he would still get the girl some day..

But Sakura had basically told him that it would never be an option. Her words did not describe it but the look in her eyes and the sound of her voice... Lee knew what she had meant.

She had meant that he was not good enough for her in a romantic way.

He let out another sigh as he began to count the insects crawling up the outside of the tent, seeing the shadows pressed against the thin fabric.

"Damn it, Sakura-chan! Why must you torture me so?"

He groaned as he sat up and looked around his tent for something to take his mind away from the thoughts of Sakura. It was so hard to push thoughts of her from his mind, it was like... Trying to learn Kage bunshin.. He just couldn't do it, his body was not SUITED to it! Just as he was poor at Ninjutsu and Genjutsu, he was extremely poor at controlling his emotions.

"Lee?"

He heard a voice from the side of the tent, and as he perked his head up to gaze out of the screened window, he saw two sets of eyes looking back at him.

One set was 1/2 open, lids lazily drooping even lower, and the other set flashed a hint of crimson.

"Sasuke? Shikamaru?"

"Uhn." It was the simple response of Shikamaru, basically translated into 'It's far to troublesome to come up with an actual response.'

"What about Sakura?"

The far more coherent response came from Sasuke, his eyes gazing at Lee as though trying to read his thoughts.

"Nothing, Sasuke.." He said, silently berating himself for speaking so loudly.. Of COURSE they had heard

him!

"You said something and I'd like to know what it was." His voice was firm, despite his tired eyes and sleepy disposition. Those dark eyes flashed their hidden crimson, leaving Lee feeling slightly put off.

Lee had to think fast.. He was a horrible liar, but he didn't want Sasuke to know what he had really said. He wasn't sure why he didn't want the other boy to know... Maybe if he told Sasuke, then Sasuke wouldn't like Sakura at all anymore, and then Sakura would know exactly how Lee felt...

It was cruel idea, Lee knew it... It wasn't in his NATURE to do that... But... Something propelled him to do it, that tiny part of him that despised Sasuke for being the lady-killer Lee wasn't...

"Well... You see... Sakura...Well she..."

Hatake Kakashi watched the boys converse through the windows of their tents for over an hour, leaning towards two before they fell silent. He had heard every word and was silently shocked at the things Lee had said. It was not his nature to be so... Manipulative...

".. Lee.." Kakashi muttered quietly, the word muffled into nothingness thanks to the flimsy mask covering his face. Any sound he might have made already carried away on the light breeze surrounding them.

He turned his head sharply when he felt the presence of another.

Maito Gai had emerged from his tent, gazing towards Rock Lee's as well, curious as to what had the lazy

Kakashi so intrigued.

"What's going on?"

This was not Gai, though.. It appeared Asuma and Kurenai were curious as well.

"Nothing... I just decided to stay up and watch the children... Gather some information for my game."

"Right." Gai said slowly, his eyes till locked on Lee's tent. He just KNEW the boy was still awake.. He could feel it in his heart, his very soul. Lee was like a son to him. They were so very similar, right down to the eyebrows.

"Lee-senses tingling, Gai?" Asuma asked lazily as he butted out his cigarette, tossed it over his shoulder, reached into his pocket and removed a new pack. Upon completing this action he removed another cigarette from the pack using his mouth, put the pack away, and then pulled out a lighter. He lit said cigarette and took a long drag, as though he had spent far too long without one...

Kurenai shook her head before she realized that all eyes were upon herself and the addicted jounin.

Immediately she pulled away from him, slipping away from the arm about her shoulder.

Kakashi grinned, but no response was forthcoming from Master Gai.

For his attention was back on Rock Lee's tent.

"Something is tormenting him.." Gai muttered slowly, and Kakashi silently agreed. It appeared that no one else had caught the two students in their dark conversation.

He scratched the back of his neck slowly, looking back and forth between the embarrassed teachers- Kurenai and Asuma, and the worried Gai..

"He was speaking with Sasuke." Kakashi decided to offer, wondering if his fellow teachers would catch on as quickly to the situation.

"... About Sakura?" It was actually Asuma who spoke this between puffs, as though he knew exactly what it was like to have the offending conversation.

Kakashi's only response was a slow, small nod, his attention brought back to the tents.

He could see the zipper undoing the flap to one doorway, and then another. Sasuke and Lee emerged from their tents and silently waded off into the darkness around them.

".. Gai. Shall we? They are our students..." Kakashi asked upon watching closely the direction they departed in.

Gai nodded swiftly and the two took off into the night.

"So... Now we're on kid-duty, right?"

"Hai."

"I remember a time like this."

"You mean when Gai followed me around and I followed you like a God?"

Asuma smirked for a response, looking back at the old, battered up tents.

"That was even my tent.." He nodded towards Sasuke's.

"Hm?"

"I can tell because of that bright orange patch on the door about 3 feet tall. I did that when I pushed Gai through it..."

Kurenai laughed, remembering that scene in her head so vividly well.

"We may have to get some new tents if history repeats itself."


End file.
